skimpy
Americanadjective
-
skimpier,
comparative
-
skimpiest
superlative
-
lacking in size, fullness, etc.; scanty.
a skimpy hem; a skimpy dinner.
-
too thrifty; stingy.
a skimpy housekeeper.
adjective
-
(of clothes, etc) made of too little material; scanty
-
excessively thrifty; mean; stingy
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of skimpy
Explanation
When something is skimpy, there's not quite enough of it. A skimpy lunch won't fill you up, and a skimpy sweater won't cover you up. The adjective skimpy is good for describing meager or inadequate things, like a skimpy amount of firewood that only burns for an hour, or a skimpy serving of ice cream. Skimpy probably comes from the verb scrimp, "be thrifty," which was originally an adjective meaning "scant or meager."
Vocabulary lists containing skimpy
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The Book of Unknown Americans
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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:
If their next pay raise feels skimpy, workers may want to look at their healthcare benefits before shooting a dirty look at their boss.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
Supino noted that Comcast didn’t take questions on its call earlier Monday and released a skimpy presentation on the split.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
The bath towel was skimpy but the counters for drying your hair and getting ready were a nice touch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026
But instead of deputies in skimpy running gear flashing the offending tattoos, a different problem plaguing the largest sheriff’s department in the nation became apparent.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2025
We spent some of our skimpy earnings on thick plastic sheets to keep our home dry, because Arul said the rainy season was approaching.
From "The Bridge Home" by Padma Venkatraman
But their coverage tends to be skimpier and often costlier than policies sold by travel insurers.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
By then, the computer runs kept showing that the only way to set taxes at rates as low as they were striving for was to provide skimpier coverage than most insured Vermonters already had.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 29, 2019
Aimee Cohen, a career coach based in Denver, said relocation packages have gotten skimpier and even executives wonder how long a gig will last.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2018
The aid also would be skimpier for many of those who qualify.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 28, 2017
At the fontanelle the pulse beneath the skin throbbed terrifyingly, and the fuzz on his skull was skimpier than pin-feathers on a fledgling.
From Woman by Magdeleine Marx
To say he has honored her story, though that’s true, is the skimpiest possible way to look at the achievement of “Dana H.”
From New York Times ● Oct. 17, 2021
This is but the skimpiest sliver of the plot of “A Great Reckoning.”
From Washington Post ● Aug. 31, 2016
Economics, business, society and culture get only the skimpiest treatment.
From Economist ● Feb. 18, 2016
Even with Bocchiccio picking up the tab, Walcott is one of the skimpiest eaters big-time heavyweight boxing has ever known.
From Time Magazine Archive
Lois the housemaid, was the smallest and skimpiest and most angular girl I ever beheld.
From Station Amusements in New Zealand by Lady (Mary Anne) Barker
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.
