skimpier; skimpiest
: deficient in supply or execution especially through skimping : scanty
skimpily adverb
skimpiness noun
Choose the Right Synonym for skimpy

meager, scanty, scant, skimpy, spare, sparse mean falling short of what is normal, necessary, or desirable.

meager implies the absence of elements, qualities, or numbers necessary to a thing's richness, substance, or potency.

a meager portion of meat

scanty stresses insufficiency in amount, quantity, or extent.

supplies too scanty to last the winter

scant suggests a falling short of what is desired or desirable rather than of what is essential.

in January the daylight hours are scant

skimpy usually suggests niggardliness or penury as the cause of the deficiency.

tacky housing developments on skimpy lots

spare may suggest a slight falling short of adequacy or merely an absence of superfluity.

a spare, concise style of writing

sparse implies a thin scattering of units.

a sparse population

Examples of skimpy in a Sentence

the information in the user's manual for the microwave is skimpy and not particularly helpful
Recent Examples on the Web The Laguna Beach alum, 37, and her new boyfriend, Mark Estes, 24, set off on a Mexican vacation, which meant Cavallari had to break out her best skimpy outfits (in the name of hot weather, and all). Hedy Phillips, Peoplemag, 29 Feb. 2024 The standard warranty is skimpy by corporate standards—one year of carry-in or ship-to-depot service—but extensions and on-site options are plentiful. Eric Grevstad, PCMAG, 1 Feb. 2024 Trammell had plenty of drugs and dedicated lingerie rooms at his homes with skimpy apparel and stilettos in a range of sizes for lady guests, according to the legal complaint. Seyward Darby, Longreads, 31 Jan. 2024 Lopez, 51, stands on a beach, in a simple yet skimpy, red sparkling bikini, showing off her greatest asset. Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024 By the time the party was underway after the Chiefs overtime win, Kelce was only rocking the pants, while Swift was wearing the suit jacket over her skimpy Dion Lee corset top and AREA jeans at the club. Hedy Phillips, Peoplemag, 12 Feb. 2024 But the tests show a positive band when there are only a relatively skimpy hundreds of thousands of viral particles per milliliter of sample. Sam Jones, Scientific American, 19 Dec. 2023 The photo shows Berry posing in an elevator, wearing nothing but a skimpy black lace bodysuit under her metallic gold blazer. Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 2 Jan. 2024 Zepeda also said that skimpy staffing had piled on pressure at her job to clean as many as 15 rooms before the end of her shift without being offered overtime. Emily Alpert Reyes, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'skimpy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1842, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of skimpy was in 1842

Dictionary Entries Near skimpy

Cite this Entry

“Skimpy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skimpy. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

skimpy

adjective
skimpier; skimpiest
: barely enough : scanty
skimpily adverb
skimpiness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on skimpy

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