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definitions

stint

1
[stint]
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verb (used without object)

to be frugal; get along on a scanty allowance: Don't stint on the food. They stinted for years in order to save money.
Archaic. to cease action; desist.

verb (used with object)

to limit to a certain amount, number, share, or allowance, often unduly; set limits to; restrict.
Archaic. to bring to an end; check.

noun

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RELATED WORDS

duty, stretch, assignment, spell, tour, job, scrimp, chore, task, shift, work, share, term, quota, turn, consignment, time, bit, participation, grudge

Nearby words

  1. stinkwood,
  2. stinky,
  3. stinky pinky,
  4. stinnes,
  5. stinnes, hugo,
  6. stipe,
  7. stipel,
  8. stipellate,
  9. stipend,
  10. stipendiary

Origin of stint

1
1150–1200; (v.) Middle English stinten, Old English styntan to make blunt, dull; (noun) Middle English, derivative of the v.; cognate with Old Norse stytta to shorten; cf. stunt1
Related forms
Can be confusedstent stint

stint

2
[stint]

noun

any of various small sandpipers of the genus Calidris, as the least sandpiper.

Origin of stint

2
1425–75; late Middle English stynte < ?
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for stint

British Dictionary definitions for stint

stint

1

verb

to be frugal or miserly towards (someone) with (something)
archaic to stop or check (something)

noun

an allotted or fixed amount of work
a limitation or check
obsolete a pause or stoppage
Derived Formsstinter, noun

Word Origin for stint

Old English styntan to blunt; related to Old Norse stytta to cut short; see stunt 1

noun

any of various small sandpipers of the chiefly northern genus Calidris (or Erolia), such as C. minuta (little stint)

Word Origin for stint

Old English; related to Middle High German stinz small salmon, Swedish dialect stinta teenager; see stunt 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for stint

stint

v.

"to limit, restrain, to be sparing or frugal," Old English styntan "to blunt, make dull," from Proto-Germanic *stuntijanan (cf. Old Norse stuttr "short, scant," Middle High German stunz "blunt, short," German stutzen "to cut short, curtail, stop, hesitate"), from PIE root *(s)teu- "to beat, strike, push, thrust" (see steep (adj.)). Related: Stinted; stinting. The noun is attested from c.1300.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper