scrimpy

[skrim-pee]

adjective

scrimpier, scrimpiest 

1. scanty; meager; barely adequate.

2. tending to scrimp; frugal; parsimonious.

Other Word Forms

• scrimpily adverb
• scrimpiness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of scrimpy¹

First recorded in 1850–55; scrimp + -y ¹

Example Sentences

Thou hast seen how Mary Minorie goes on about her bald, scrimpy husband; yet she burst out crying when he put the ring on her finger.

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He was thinking how his pittance of pay would support, in a scrimpy way, his poor mother and sister, who looked unto him as their only hope and refuge.

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From the scrimpy legs of the knickerbockers his knees shone bare and brown.

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I know our house is awful scrimpy, but we'd have some good times, anyhow.

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A scrimpy woollen skirt is tied around the waist with a girdle, and over the shoulders is worn a short tunic, with which, however, many dispense when at home in the barranca.

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Related Words

• insufficient 
• mere 
• minimum 
• miserable 
• paltry 
• puny 
• scant 
• scanty 
• skimpy 
• sparse 
• tenuous