scamp

[ skamp ]

/ skæmp /

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See synonyms for: scamp / scamped / scamping / scamper on Thesaurus.com

noun

an unscrupulous and often mischievous person; rascal; rogue; scalawag.

a playful, mischievous, or naughty young person; upstart.

a grouper, Mycteroperca phenax, of Florida: so called from its habit of stealing bait.

verb (used with object)

to do or perform in a hasty or careless manner: to scamp work.

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Origin of scamp

1775–85; obsolete scamp to travel about idly or for mischief, perhaps <obsolete Dutch schampen to be gone <Old French escamper to decamp

OTHER WORDS FROM scamp

scamper, nounscamp·ing·ly, adverbscampish, adjectivescamp·ish·ly, adverb

scamp·ish·ness, nounun·scamped, adjective

Words nearby scamp

Scamander, scambaiting, scamillus, scammer, scammony, scamp, scamper, scampi, scamster, scamto, scan

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use scamp in a sentence

Fortnum is well behaved, but Mason appears to be a little more of a scamp.
Penis Beakers and Constipated Dolls: What Mothers REALLY Want To Know|Tom Sykes|October 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Meanwhile Mr. Crow had been thinking rapidly—for he was a quick-witted old scamp.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole|Arthur Scott Bailey
There was a scamp of a father who had "not been very kind" to Angel, and had been lost, or had thoughtfully lost himself.
Rosemary in Search of a Father|C. N. Williamson
Do you remember a young girl and a tall scamp who wanted to carry you along to Palestine?
The Pilgrim's Shell or Fergan the Quarryman|Eugne Sue

The impudent scamp who gave that order deserves to receive as many lashes as his horse has hairs in his tail!
The Pilgrim's Shell or Fergan the Quarryman|Eugne Sue
I saw Mary Belle transformed from an ordinary playful scamp of a lamb to a primped and perfect darling of the show-ring.
The Red Cow and Her Friends|Peter McArthur

British Dictionary definitions for scamp (1 of 2)

scamp¹

/ (skæmp) /

noun

an idle mischievous person; rascal

a mischievous child

Derived forms of scamp

scampish, adjective

Word Origin for scamp

C18: from scamp (vb) to be a highway robber, probably from Middle Dutch schampen to decamp, from Old French escamper, from es- ex- 1 + -camper, from Latin campus field

British Dictionary definitions for scamp (2 of 2)

scamp²

/ (skæmp) /

verb

a less common word for skimp

Derived forms of scamp

scamper, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

scamp

Origin of scamp

OTHER WORDS FROM scamp

Words nearby scamp

Words related to scamp

How to use scamp in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for scamp (1 of 2)

Derived forms of scamp

Word Origin for scamp

British Dictionary definitions for scamp (2 of 2)

Derived forms of scamp