scarce

adjective
UK: /skeəs/
US: /skers/

  1. Not easy to find or get; limited in quantity or availability.

    1. Food was very scarce after the war so people had to be careful.
    2. During the drought, water became quite scarce, and people had to conserve it carefully.

  2. Rare; not often seen or found.

    1. Rain is scarce in the desert, it's why the plants are dry.
    2. Job opportunities are increasingly scarce for young people without specific skills.

Synonyms

rare limited deficient inadequate
scarce intransitive-verb

  1. To become scarce; to dwindle or become reduced in quantity.

    1. During the summer, water starts to scarce because it doesn't rain.
    2. As resources scarce, the competition between different groups becomes more intense and fierce.

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "scarce" in English means: Not easy to find or get; limited in quantity or availability., Rare; not often seen or found..

The phonetic transcription of "scarce" is /skeəs/ in British English and /skers/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "scarce": rare, limited, deficient, inadequate.

Example usage of "scarce": "Food was very scarce after the war so people had to be careful.". More examples on the page.