scrooge
verb (used with or without object)
scrooge
1 American
[skrooj]
/ skrudʒ /
verb (used with or without object)
scrooged,
scrooging
Scrooge
2
American
[skrooj]
/ skrudʒ /
noun
-
Ebenezer a miserly curmudgeon in Dickens' Christmas Carol.
-
(often lowercase) any miserly person.
Scrooge
British
/ skruːdʒ /
noun
Etymology
Origin of Scrooge
1935–40, Scrooge for def. 2
Explanation
A scrooge is a person who is stingy with money: scrooges would rather do anything than part with a buck. The novels of Charles Dickens have contributed more than a dozen words that found their way into everyday language. Scrooge, the chief character from A Christmas Carol, is perhaps the best-known of them all. Like the character, a scrooge is a selfish person who doesn't like giving or spending. Scrooges keep a tight hold on every penny, even if they’re rich. You can also call a scrooge a miser or skinflint. Someone generous is the opposite of a scrooge.
Vocabulary lists containing scrooge
You Name It: Eponyms
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Scrooge, Grinch, and Churl: Wonderful Words for Unpleasant People
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"There's a few out there who think I'm a bit of a scrooge but my friends think it's quite a good idea," she said.
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2022
How can I politely decline without looking like a scrooge?
From Slate ● May 12, 2020
I know we're starved for sports, and maybe I'm being a scrooge, but I cannot imagine this has any effect beyond making us even more acutely aware of what we can't see.
From Golf Digest ● Apr. 6, 2020
The late Alan Rickman, who also stars in Christmas classic "Love Actually," looks more scrooge than cold-blooded killer as Hans Gruber when he speaks of Christmas being a "time of the miracles."
From Fox News ● Dec. 19, 2018
You just bet my world is full of nice men, packed like sardines; but they'll all scrooge up a little and make room for you on the top layer among the selects!
From Michael O'Halloran by Stratton-Porter, Gene
So let’s dive, Scrooge McDuck–style, into the swampy details.
From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2026
Francesca Fiorentini, a comedian and podcaster, compared Steyer to Charles Dickens’ fictional miser Ebenezer Scrooge.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026
We’ll keep it breezy, useful and real, because, as we’ve learned, most people are just trying to get a little better with their money without turning into day traders or Ebenezer Scrooge.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 2, 2026
And each year, when the twinkling holiday lights fade to a hazy glow and the gingerbread is nothing more than crumbs, I thank copyright law for giving me my favorite Christmas tradition: Ebony Scrooge.
From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2025
“Maybe I read too much Dickens over the holidays. Scrooge, Marley, Tiny Tim.”
From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein
She was veiled and he was goggled, and both of them scrooged down in the seat apprehensively.
From The Flyers by McCutcheon, George Barr
So he scraped and scratched and scrabbled and scrooged and then he scrooged again and scrabbled and scratched and scraped, working busily with his little paws and muttering to himself, 'Up we go!
From The Wind in the Willows by Grahame, Kenneth
To that end she plugged the gaps in the bathroom, doled out the towels, scrimped on the furnace, scrooged on the attendance.
From The Invisible Censor by Hackett, Francis
“I scrooged the main fact out o’ old Pete, her father.
From The Man Thou Gavest by Comstock, Harriet T. (Harriet Theresa)
I jest naturally scrooged away as fur as I could git, an’ hung on tight to the rock so’s not to go over.
From Kings in Exile by Roberts, Charles George Douglas, Sir
And I were that stiff with scrooging in this cornder—" "Is that all?
From Erema — My Father's Sin by Blackmore, R. D. (Richard Doddridge)
Such pushing and scrooging, you never seen the like, Kirry.
From The Manxman A Novel - 1895 by Caine, Hall, Sir
And I can only see you by scrooging into the corner, and the curting's there.
From Little Miss Peggy Only a Nursery Story by Molesworth, Mrs.
Gertie and Chicken Little both squirmed uneasily, but Katy caught her breath and went on reading, scrooging up a little closer under the umbrellas.
From Chicken Little Jane by Ritchie, Lily Munsell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
