scrimp

Meaning

Noun

A pinching miser; a niggard.

Verb

1. To make too small or short.
2. To limit or straiten; to put on short allowance.
3. To be frugal.

Adj

Short; scanty; curtailed.

Synonyms

frugal

skimp

economize

stint

scanty

save

stingy

examine

exiguous

inadequate

inefficient

insufficient

lay away

lift

little

meager

meagre

minor

miser

niggard

petit

petty

piddling

pinch

puny

question

❓

razee

scant

scrimpy

short

skip

slight

small

snarf

sneak

snitch

snub

tightwad

truncate

walk off

bag

muckworm

belittle

be stingy

conserve

dwarf

economise

enquire

Pronounced as (IPA)

/skɹɪmp/

Etymology

Cognate with Old English: sċrimman

In summary

Probably from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German schrimpen (“to shrivel up, wrinkle”), 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”). Related to shrink, shrimp.