noun scantness; scarcity.
2. scant ·superl sparing; parsimonious; chary.
3. scant ·adv in a scant manner; with difficulty; scarcely; hardly.
4. scant ·vi to fail, or become less; to scantle; as, the wind scants.
5. scant ·vt to cut short; to make small, narrow, or scanty; to curtail.
6. scant ·vt to limit; to straiten; to treat illiberally; to stint; as, to scant one in provisions; to scant ourselves in the use of necessaries.
7. scant ·superl 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.