miser
Americannoun
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a person who lives in wretched circumstances in order to save and hoard money.
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a stingy, avaricious person.
- Synonyms:
- pinchpenny, tightwad, skinflint
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Obsolete. a wretched or unhappy person.
noun
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a person who hoards money or possessions, often living miserably
-
selfish person
noun
Etymology
Origin of miser
1535–45; < Latin: wretched
Explanation
A miser is someone who hoards his or her own wealth and doesn’t share or spend any of it. If you remember the old saying “You can’t take it with you!” — then you won't end up acting stingy like a miser. The most famous fictional miser is probably Scrooge in Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. The image of his shivering with cold while he counts his coins illustrates the misery often associated with misers. To be a miser, your impulse to hoard means you won’t even indulge yourself by spending money for fear of depleting your stash.
Vocabulary lists containing miser
Scrooge, Grinch, and Churl: Wonderful Words for Unpleasant People
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"Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began" by Art Spiegelman
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A Room of One's Own
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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.
“I’m a miser right now when it comes to what I’m spending at supermarkets,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 15, 2025
Dressed in ragged clothes, the Gloucester miser also chose to shun public transport to save his precious pennies.
From BBC • Dec. 6, 2023
A new four-episode podcast aims to show how Ebenezer Scrooge became the miserable miser of the Charles Dickens’ classic “A Christmas Carol,” focusing on themes of redemption, mercy, grace and compassion.
From Washington Times • Nov. 27, 2023
His dad, a “mouse-like miser of a man,” makes only short visits.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 26, 2023
She’d even talked her brother into coming along; he was a miser and had a lot of money.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
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.
