scarcer; scarcest
1
: deficient in quantity or number compared with the demand : not plentiful or abundant
2
: intentionally absent
made himself scarce at inspection time
scarceness
noun
Examples of scarce in a Sentence
Adjective
Food was getting scarce during the drought.
food was a bit scarce last winter
Adverb
I could scarce believe what I was hearing.
Recent Examples on the Web
Ramishah Maruf, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2025
When pills became scarce, heroin filled the void.
—Michele Steeb, Oc Register, 29 Oct. 2025
Technical details are scarce, as tends to be the case with the more imaginative concepts.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 29 Oct. 2025
At the same time, live sports are no longer scarce.
—Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 27 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scarce
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Adjective
Heavy rare earths are more scarce, and the United States doesn’t have the capability to separate rare earths after extraction.
—Ramishah Maruf, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2025
When pills became scarce, heroin filled the void.
—Michele Steeb, Oc Register, 29 Oct. 2025
Technical details are scarce, as tends to be the case with the more imaginative concepts.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 29 Oct. 2025
At the same time, live sports are no longer scarce.
—Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 27 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scarce
Cite this Entry
“Scarce.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scarce. Accessed 1 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share