scrimp

American  

[skrimp] / skrɪmp /

verb (used without object)

• scrimps,
  present (3rd person singular)
• scrimped,
  past participle,  past
• scrimping
  present participle

1. to be sparing or frugal; economize (often followed byon ).

   They scrimped and saved for everything they have. He spends most of his money on clothes, and scrimps on food.

   Synonyms:

   scrape, save, stint, skimp

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verb (used with object)

• scrimps,
  present (3rd person singular)
• scrimped,
  past participle,  past
• scrimping
  present participle

1. to be sparing or restrictive of or in; limit severely.

   to scrimp food.

2. to keep on short allowance; provide sparingly for.

   to scrimp their elderly parents.

scrimp British  

/ skrɪmp /

verb

1. to be very economical or sparing in the use (of) (esp in the phrase scrimp and save )

2. (tr) to treat meanly

   he is scrimping his children

3. (tr) to cut too small

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adjective

1. a less common word for scant

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• scrimpiness
  noun
• scrimpy
  adjective
• unscrimped
  adjective
• scrimpily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• scrimping
  present
• scrimped
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• scrimp
  simple
• scrimps
  simple
• have scrimped
  perfect
• has scrimped
  perfect
• am scrimping
  progressive
• are scrimping
  progressive
• is scrimping
  progressive
• have been scrimping
  perfect progressive
• has been scrimping
  perfect progressive

Past

• scrimped
  simple
• had scrimped
  perfect
• was scrimping
  progressive
• were scrimping
  progressive
• had been scrimping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will scrimp
  simple
• will have scrimped
  perfect
• will be scrimping
  progressive
• will have been scrimping
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of scrimp

First recorded in 1710–20; from Scandinavian; compare Swedish skrympa, Norwegian, Danish skrumpe (originally from an unattested skrimpa, ) “to shrivel,” cognate with Middle High German schrimpfen “to contract”; see origin at shrimp

Explanation

When you scrimp, you get by on very little money. If you scrimp all year long in order to buy tickets to the Stanley Cup finals, you save every last penny to be able to go to those games. If you scrimp, yes, you are watching every dime trying to spend as little as you can — for the purpose of saving your money. Maybe you walk everywhere to avoid paying for a bus ride, or you make your friends cut your hair. Scrimp looks like shrink and scrape and that's the goal: shrinking the amount of money you spend to scrape together some savings, for a specific purpose or just the security of having money in the bank.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

scrimp scrimps scrimped scrimping

However, I don’t want my son to think that I will take care of everything and that he doesn’t have to work hard and scrimp and save.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 6, 2026

She meets and marries fellow student Jen Chao-Pe, and together they move into a dilapidated walk-up in Washington Heights, where Agnes learns to scrimp and save and paint her own walls.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2025

For years, the Hillsborough families had had to scrimp, save, and fundraise to pay for lawyers.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2025

I was destined to scrimp and save and worry about money for the rest of my life.

From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2024

This book was too important to scrimp on details.

From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman

Down the hall, 56-year-old Janine Cox gets an occasional bag of chips from the vending machine and scrimps to add to the collection plate at church.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 15, 2023

Don’t let all this talk of characters give you the impression that Vikings scrimps on the action, though.

From The Guardian ● Jan. 13, 2017

If I have one criticism of Passan’s book, it is that he scrimps on the history of pitchers’ arms.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 15, 2016

Yet no matter how much the 58-year-old scrimps and saves, shopping at discount stores, she never has enough.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 2016

Na, he seldom scrimps 't to them 'at follows his biddin'.

From Warlock o' Glenwarlock by George MacDonald

To pay for the house, he said, he scrimped and saved during his freshman year, riding a secondhand bike instead of buying a car.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

I grew up in an era where you scrimped and saved and did not indulge in luxuries.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 6, 2026

She tried to focus on the work, but was beset by dread: Had a wildfire taken the home she scrimped to buy on a housekeeper’s wages?

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 10, 2023

"I scrimped and saved quite a bit, but as time has gone on I've realised this isn't financially viable," he says.

From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2023

He promises to choose wise investments there and multiply the several thousand dollars the couple has scrimped to save.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

“We have been scrimping for a long time.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 24, 2026

Related: ‘I worked very hard’: I’m 71 and have $6 million after scrimping and saving.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 8, 2026

"It's literally scrimping and scraping to be able to manage to get one lesson a week," she says.

From BBC ● May 24, 2025

Like many of their class and generation, my grandparents never traveled anywhere, but after scrimping and saving, they did, finally, make it to Hawaii.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2023

Ethelinda had been found in Dot’s stocking only the previous Christmas, and its purchase had cost a deal of scrimping and planning on Ruth’s part.

From The Corner House Girls How they moved to Milton, what they found, and what they did by Grace Brooks Hill

Related Words

• cut back
• skimp