scarce

[skairs]

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

adverb

1. scarcely.

scarce

/ skɛəs /

adjective

1. rarely encountered

2. insufficient to meet the demand

3. informal,  to go away, esp suddenly

adverb

1. archaic,  scarcely

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of scarce¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of scarce¹

C13: from Old Norman French scars, from Vulgar Latin excarpsus (unattested) plucked out, from Latin excerpere to select; see _excerpt

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. make oneself scarce,

   1. to depart, especially suddenly.

   2. to stay away; avoid.

More idioms and phrases containing scarce

• make oneself scarce

Example Sentences

As major tech players tussle for scarce GPUs and computing capacity, an equally heated scramble is playing out among Wall Street asset managers.

Read more on MarketWatch

Antimony prices have quadrupled from two years ago and supplies are now scarce, just as defense companies need to replenish stockpiles of armaments exhausted by the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Some repo-rate benchmarks have swung higher than the Fed’s target, however, suggesting borrowers have been willing to pay a premium for relatively scarce cash.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Thanks to the supply of fresh water, most animals were surviving, but food and shelter were scarce.

Read more on Literature

Ukrainians worry Western procurement doesn’t yet reflect how the math favors plentiful cheap weapons over scarce and costly ones—as the Poland example illustrates.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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