meager
AmericanSynonym Usage
See scanty.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of meager
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English megre, from Old French maigre, from Latin macer “lean”
Explanation
Meager means small and often applies to portions. Your mother may only allow you a meager serving of chocolate cake, and you may need to eat a meager serving of veggies in order to deserve that dessert. Meager doesn't mean adequate — it means not enough. People with a limited supply of food may try to subsist on meager portions. People who make a meager amount of money probably have a hard time making rent. Meager and emaciated both derive from the Old French maigre. If you can remember that you will look emaciated if your diet is meager, you’ll use the word correctly.
Vocabulary lists containing meager
List 1
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Tuck Everlasting
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"Of Mice and Men"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Indeed, Monday’s 0.9% gain for the Nasdaq Composite was meager compared with its 4.2% loss on Friday.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026
“We get jobs with meager wages in factories and companies, but those jobs are so torturous and stressful that we don’t want to work.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026
Similar meager numbers have been found in other states, such as Texas, Georgia, Michigan, and Iowa.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
In Africa, South Asia and the Middle East, the IMF warned that a number of countries were already struggling with meager foreign reserves and "limited market access," making them vulnerable to "dangerous" debt shocks.
From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026
They knew, however, that today’s event had the potential to make their success so far seem meager.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
