Scant /(?)/

1. Not full, large, or plentiful; scarcely sufficient; less than is wanted for the purpose; scanty; meager; not enough; as, a scant allowance of provisions or water; a scant pattern of cloth for a garment.

   His sermon was scant, in all, a quarter of an hour.

2. Sparing; parsimonious; chary.

   Be somewhat scanter of your maiden presence.

imp. & p. p. Scanted; p. pr. & vb. n. Scanting

1. To limit; to straiten; to treat illiberally; to stint; as, to scant one in provisions; to scant ourselves in the use of necessaries.

   Where a man hath a great living laid together and where he is scanted.

   I am scanted in the pleasure of dwelling on your actions.

2. To cut short; to make small, narrow, or scanty; to curtail.

1. To fail, or become less; to scantle; as, the wind scants.

1. In a scant manner; with difficulty; scarcely; hardly. [Obs.]

   So weak that he was scant able to go down the stairs.

1. Scantness; scarcity. [R.]