meagre

/ ˈmiːɡə /

adjective

1. deficient in amount, quality, or extent

2. thin or emaciated

3. lacking in richness or strength

Other Word Forms

• meagrely adverb
• meagreness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of meagre¹

C14: from Old French maigre, from Latin macer lean, poor

Example Sentences

Ruth Gregory, deputy chief UK economist at Capital Economics, called August's growth "meagre".

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"I've never had insurance; most Barbudans don't really think it's worth it. It's just an added expense to the meagre resources we have," he explains.

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The three of them had meagre possessions - plastic mats, clothes, packets of instant noodles and some other grocery items - and the cave was leaking.

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In Sudan, Yousuf said smugglers left his group for a month in the desert enduring searing hot days and bitter cold nights surviving on meagre rations of rice and contaminated water.

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The US reported meagre job gains in August and July and an outright loss in June - the first such decline since 2020.

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