What does "scant" mean?
A small piece or quantity.
Scant
/skænt/ adj, adv, det, noun, verb
adj, adv, det, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A small piece or quantity.
- Grammar: scant is listed as adj, adv, det, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: a small number, abstemious, aliquant, angustifoliate.
- Useful contrasts: abundant, adequate, amplest.
- Usage evidence: The volunteer firefighters fought the blaze bravely, with scant regard for their own safety.
How to use "scant"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "scant" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "scant" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "scant" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "scant" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "scant" is acting as adj, adv, det, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "a small number" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "scant", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A small piece or quantity.
"A blonde appeared from the officers' room, wearing a scant of material that passed for issued undergarments."
- 2 Scarcity; lack. uncommon
"As soon as the corpse was placed on the pile, and some prayers muttered by the attendant Bramin, fire was set to it at one of the corners, and the wood being dry, and in great quantity, it soon blazed up and consumed the body to ashes, without any noisome smell, such as however does not unfrequently happen if there is a scant of wood, or rain intervenes to damp it."
- 3 A block of stone sawn on two sides down to the bed level.
- 4 A sheet of stone.
- 5 A slightly thinner measurement of a standard wood size.
Verb
- 1 To limit in amount or share; to stint. transitive
"to scant someone in provisions; to scant ourselves in the use of necessaries"
- 2 supply sparingly and with restricted quantities wordnet
- 3 To fail, or become less; to scantle. intransitive
"The wind scants."
- 4 limit in quality or quantity wordnet
- 5 work hastily or carelessly; deal with inadequately and superficially wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Not full, large, or plentiful; scarcely sufficient; scanty; meager.
"a scant allowance of provisions or water; a scant pattern of cloth for a garment"
- 2 Sparing; parsimonious; chary.
"Be somewhat scanter of your maiden presence."
- 3 Slightly diminished; just short of the amount described.
"a scant cup of sugar"
Adjective
- 1 less than the correct or legal or full amount often deliberately so wordnet
Adverb
- 1 With difficulty; scarcely; hardly. dated, not-comparable, uncommon
"[A]ske a Stoicke vvhich Philoſophy is true, he vvil preferre his ovvne. Then aske him vvhich approacheth next the truth, he vvill confeſſe the Academiques. So deale vvith the Epicure, that vvill ſcant indure the Stoicke to be in ſight of him, ſo ſoone as he hath placed himſelfe, he vvill place the Academiques next him."
Determiner
- 1 Very little, very few.
"After his previous escapades, Mary had scant reason to believe John."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The volunteer firefighters fought the blaze bravely, with scant regard for their own safety."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "scant"?
Common synonyms include: a small number, abstemious, aliquant, angustifoliate, angustirostrate, angustisellate.
How do you use "scant" in a sentence?
The volunteer firefighters fought the blaze bravely, with scant regard for their own safety.
How do you pronounce "scant"?
Pronounced /skænt/.
Etymology
Adjective and determiner from Middle English scant, from Old Norse skamt, neuter of skammr (“short”), from Proto-Germanic *skammaz (“short”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱem- (“mutilated, hornless”). Verb from Middle English scanten, from the adjective. Noun and adverb from Middle English scant, from the adjective.