scrimp

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.

• IPA^(key): /skɹɪmp/

• Audio (Southern England)

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• Rhymes: -ɪmp

scrimp (plural scrimps)

1. A pinching miser; a niggard.

• See also Thesaurus:miser

scrimp (third-person singular simple present scrimps, present participle scrimping, simple past and past participle scrimped)

1. (transitive) To make too small or short.

   To scrimp the pattern of a coat.

   Synonyms: scant, contract, shorten

2. (transitive) To limit or straiten; to put on short allowance.
3. (intransitive) To be frugal.
   • 2020, Brit Bennett, The Vanishing Half, Dialogue Books, page 334:

     They had to scrimp each month to afford it out of pocket.

• scrimp and save
• scrimper

scrimp (comparative more scrimp, superlative most scrimp)

1. Short; scanty; curtailed.

• crimps