scarce

[skairs] /skɛərs/

adjective, scarcer, scarcest.

insufficient to satisfy the need or demand; not abundant:

Meat and butter were scarce during the war.

seldom met with; rare:

a scarce book.

adverb

scarcely.

Idioms

make oneself scarce, Informal.

to depart, especially suddenly.
to stay away; avoid.

Origin

1250-1300; Middle English scars < Old North French (e)scars < Vulgar Latin *excarpsus plucked out, for Latin excerptus; see excerpt

Related forms

scarceness, noun

unscarce, adjective

unscarcely, adverb

unscarceness, noun

Can be confused

extinct, rare, scarce.

Synonyms

1. deficient. 2. uncommon, infrequent.

Antonyms

1. abundant.

Examples from the web for scarce

We have no dictionary of our language, and scarce a tolerable grammar.
Supplies including food became scarce due to safety fears by the suppliers.
The fabrics they depended on grew scarce, and business slowed considerably.
For example, taurine is scarce in plants but abundant in meats.
When game was scarce the men hunted wild mustangs, sometimes eating their own ponies.

British Dictionary definitions for scarce

scarce

/skɛəs/

adjective

rarely encountered

insufficient to meet the demand

(informal) make oneself scarce, to go away, esp suddenly

adverb

(archaic or literary) scarcely

Derived Forms

scarceness, noun

Word Origin

C13: from Old Norman French scars, from Vulgar Latin excarpsus (unattested) plucked out, from Latin excerpere to select; see excerpt

Word Origin and History for scarce

adj.

c.1300, "restricted in quantity," from Old North French scars "scanty, scarce" (Old French eschars, Modern French échars) from Vulgar Latin *scarsus, from *escarpsus, from *excarpere "pluck out," from classical Latin excerpere "pluck out" (see excerpt). As an adverb early 14c. from the adjective. Phrase to make oneself scarce "go away" first attested 1771, noted as a current "cant phrase." Related: Scarcely.

Idioms and Phrases with scarce

scarce

In addition to the idiom beginning with scarce also see: make oneself scarce