scarce

American  

[skairs] / skɛərs /

adjective

scarcer, scarcest

1. insufficient to satisfy the need or demand; not abundant.

   Meat and butter were scarce during the war.

   Synonyms:

   deficient

   Antonyms:

   abundant

2. seldom met with; rare.

   a scarce book.

   Synonyms:

   infrequent, uncommon

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adverb

1. scarcely.

idioms

1. make oneself scarce,

   1. to depart, especially suddenly.

   2. to stay away; avoid.

scarce British  

/ skɛəs /

adjective

1. rarely encountered

2. insufficient to meet the demand

3. informal to go away, esp suddenly

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adverb

1. archaic scarcely

scarce More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing scarce

• make oneself scarce

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Other Word Forms

• scarceness noun
• unscarce adjective
• unscarcely adverb
• unscarceness noun

Etymology

Origin of scarce

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English scars, from Old North French (e)scars, from Vulgar Latin excarpsus (unrecorded) “plucked out,” from Latin excerptus; excerpt

Example Sentences

For years, researchers have observed that people who live at high elevations, where oxygen is scarce, tend to develop diabetes less often than those at sea level.

From Science Daily

Plump quarterly payments are relatively scarce, so the fund’s top holdings cover mostly familiar ground: oil, soda, fighter jets, pills, cigarettes, and for those with the moral flexibility for it, phone service.

From Barron's

It was imported from Europe, suitable wood being scarce in the parched Egyptian landscape.

From The Wall Street Journal

In the last decade, growth has been a scarce commodity outside of America.

From MarketWatch

During the first millennium BCE, pine forests were scarce in Denmark.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• deficient
• limited
• rare
• scant
• scanty
• sparse
• sporadic