scrimp
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scrimp
- /skɹɪmp/
Rhymes with -ɪmp
Where it comes from
From Scots scrimp (“meager”), from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German schrimpen (“to shrivel up, wrinkle”), from Old Dutch *scrimpan, from Frankish *skrimpan, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *skrimpaną (“to shrink”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut off”), related to Old English sċrimman (“to shrink”) and sċrincan (“to shrivel up”). Doublet of shrink, shrimp, and shrim.
noun scrimps
- A pinching miser; a niggard.
verb scrimps · scrimping · scrimped
- To make too small or short; to shortchange. to scrimp the pattern of a coat
- To limit or straiten; to put on short allowance. For, as a general thing, the English merchant-ship scrimps her crew; but not so the English whaler.
- To be frugal, whether to a reasonable and wise extent or to a miserly and unwise extent. “Oh, Electra, jewel of women, darling of my heart, we are free at last, we roll in wealth, we need never scrimp again. It's a case for Veuve Cliquot!”
adjective more scrimp · most scrimp
- Short; scanty; curtailed.
Translations
Every language
verb to be frugal
| 中文 | 过度缩减 guòdùsuōjiǎn |
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Talk about this word "scrimp." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/scrimp. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. scrimp. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/scrimp "scrimp." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/scrimp.Cite this
@misc{scrimp_2026,
title = {scrimp},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/scrimp},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
