stint

1
[ stint ]
See synonyms for: stintstintedstints on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)
  1. to be frugal; get along on a scanty allowance: Don't stint on the food.They stinted for years in order to save money.

  2. Archaic. to cease action; desist.

verb (used with object)
  1. to limit to a certain amount, number, share, or allowance, often unduly; set limits to; restrict.

  2. Archaic. to bring to an end; check.

noun
  1. a period of time spent doing something: a two-year stint in the army.

  2. an allotted amount or piece of work: to do one's daily stint.

  1. limitation or restriction, especially as to amount: to give without stint.

  2. a limited, prescribed, or expected quantity, share, rate, etc.: to exceed one's stint.

  3. Obsolete. a pause; halt.

Origin of stint

1
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English verb stinten, stenten “to cease,” Old English styntan “to make blunt, dull”; cognate with Old Norse stytta “to shorten” (cf. stunt1); noun derivative of the verb

Other words for stint

Other words from stint

  • stint·ed·ly, adverb
  • stint·ed·ness, noun
  • stinter, noun
  • stint·ing·ly, adverb
  • stintless, adjective
  • un·stint·ed, adjective
  • un·stint·ing, adjective
  • un·stint·ing·ly, adverb

Words that may be confused with stint

Other definitions for stint (2 of 2)

stint2
[ stint ]

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

Origin of stint

2
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English; stynte, stint; further origin unknown

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use stint in a sentence

  • The ox should be as little abused by threats and whipping, as by stinted feed and overtasked labor.

    Domestic Animals | Richard L. Allen
  • This is not unfrequently hollow stomach, and very often follows stinted fare, hard usage, and exposure to cold.

    Domestic Animals | Richard L. Allen
  • After calving, she should be stinted in her food for two or three days, and not fed freely for a week.

    Domestic Animals | Richard L. Allen
  • If pushed rapidly with proper food, they will of course be ripe much sooner than if stinted.

    Domestic Animals | Richard L. Allen
  • Only enough is obtained to afford them a stinted repast—a mere luncheon.

    The Land of Fire | Mayne Reid

British Dictionary definitions for stint (1 of 2)

stint1

/ (stɪnt) /


verb
  1. to be frugal or miserly towards (someone) with (something)

  2. archaic to stop or check (something)

noun
  1. an allotted or fixed amount of work

  2. a limitation or check

  1. obsolete a pause or stoppage

Origin of stint

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

Derived forms of stint

  • stinter, noun

British Dictionary definitions for stint (2 of 2)

stint2

/ (stɪnt) /


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

Origin of stint

2
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