Scant

Definitions

1. A small piece or quantity.
2. Scarcity; lack.
   uncommon
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.

Equivalents

Examples

“A blonde appeared from the officers' room, wearing a scant of material that passed for issued undergarments.”

“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.”

“I was greatly surprised, however, in this very fertile and abundant country, to find⟳ so great a scant of provisions in the inns.”

“Even if labour were diverted to a great extent from our grand staple, the cotton manufacture⟳, we are not prepared to admit⟳ that the country would be worse off. The worst that could happen⟳ in such a case would be, that for a few years, during the inordinate progress⟳ of railways, our population would run⟳ short of shirts and shifts. If the woollen manufacture⟳ be the theme, there would be a scant of coats and petticoats; or if the earthenware manufacture⟳, there must be fewer teapots and pipkins.”

CEFR level