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scarce

adj. · adv.
US //ˈskɛɹs// UK //skˈeəs// scarce
  1. 1 hard to find (adj.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    available in small amounts and difficult to find.

    insufficient to meet a demand or requirement; existing in limited quantities.

    Example

    Fresh water became scarce after the long summer without any rain.

    Example

    During the economic crisis, skilled labour became increasingly scarce as many professionals sought more stable opportunities abroad.
  2. 2 lacking something (adj.)
    C1 Advanced Literary

    not having enough of a specific thing.

    deficient in quantity or number; poorly supplied with a particular resource.

    Example

    The village was scarce of food after the harsh winter.

    Example

    The expedition found themselves scarce of medical supplies just as they reached the most remote part of the mountain range.

    Usage

    Often used with the preposition 'of'.
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  1. 3 barely (adv.)
    C2 Proficiency Archaic Literary

    almost not at all; only just.

    used to indicate that something is only just true or has only just happened.

    Example

    The sun had scarce risen when the travelers began their journey.

    Example

    He had scarce finished his speech when the audience erupted into a mixture of confused murmurs and polite applause.

    Teacher's tip

    In modern English, speakers almost always use 'scarcely' instead of 'scarce' as an adverb.
Origin

From Middle English scars, scarse, from Old Northern French scars, escars ("sparing, niggard, parsimonious, miserly, poor"; > French échars, Medieval Latin scarsus (“diminished, reduced”)), of uncertain origin. One theory is that it derives originally from a Late Latin scarpsus, excarpsus, a participle form of *excarpere (“take out”), from Latin ex- + carpere; yet the sense evolution is difficult to trace. Compare Middle Dutch schaers (“scarce”), Middle Dutch schaers (“a pair of shears, plowshare”), scheeren (“to shear”). The standard pronunciation having the /ɛə(ɹ)/ vowel instead of expected /ɑː(ɹ)/ is due to a tendency for Old and Middle French preconsonantal /ar/ to be borrowed as Middle English /aːr/ that only survives in this word and dace in the modern standard, but is more frequent in Early Modern English and traditional dialects; compare Scots gairden (“garden”), lairge (“large”).

Word family

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