Word
Definition
v. to use too little of something, like money or time, when you should use more to do a good job.
v. to provide or use an insufficient amount of something, often to save money or effort; to scrimp.
Examples
“Don't skimp on the paint if you want the wall to look good.”
“The hotel started to skimp on cleaning supplies to cut costs, which led to many guest complaints.”
“While it is tempting to skimp on high-quality ingredients during a recession, professional chefs argue that such compromises inevitably degrade the final product and alienate loyal customers.”
Examples
simple
“Don't skimp on the paint if you want the wall to look good.”
contextual
“The hotel started to skimp on cleaning supplies to cut costs, which led to many guest complaints.”
complex
“While it is tempting to skimp on high-quality ingredients during a recession, professional chefs argue that such compromises inevitably degrade the final product and alienate loyal customers.”
Collocations
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “skimp” in context.
Verb
01. skimp on
“It is a mistake to skimp on quality when buying a new car.”
verb + prep
Noun
02. skimp on detail
“The report was informative but tended to skimp on detail regarding the budget.”
verb + prep + noun
03. skimp on essential
“When money is tight, families are often forced to skimp on essentials.”
verb + prep + noun
04. skimp on ingredient
“The chef refuses to skimp on ingredients, even if it means higher prices.”
verb + prep + noun
05. skimp on training
“Companies that skimp on training often face higher staff turnover.”
verb + prep + noun
06. skimp on safety measures
“The airline was criticized for trying to skimp on safety measures to save money.”
07. skimp on the details
“Don't skimp on the details; we need a full account of what happened.”
08. skimp on the prep work
“If you skimp on the prep work, the final paint job won't look professional.”
Usage
Intransitive when followed by 'on'; transitive when the object is the resource being saved.
Pitfall
skimp the details
skimp on the details
When referring to the area where effort is lacking, the verb usually requires the preposition 'on'.
Real-World Examples
“Skimpflation is when, instead of simply raising prices, companies skimp on the quality of their goods or services to save money — and hope that consumers either don't notice or don't care.” “Skimpflation is defined as businesses 'skimping' on the quality of a product or service,” says Scott A Wolla, economic education officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis.” “Immigrants and activists say facilities such as Adelanto, owned by Boca Raton, Fla.-based Geo Group Inc , the nation's largest for-profit corrections company, deliberately skimp on essentials, even food, to coerce detainees to labor for pennies an hour to supplement meager rations.” “As the virus spreads rapidly across the world, turning people into pools of sticky liquid, Scarrow does not skimp on the horror.” Etymology
Skimp is perhaps of North Germanic origin, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *skimpijaną, meaning "to skip, dance, gesture, mock". Its cognates include Icelandic skimpa ("to scoff at, scorn"), dialectal Swedish skimpa ("to skip, dance"), and Faroese skumpa ("to shove, bump"), as well as German schimpfen ("to grumble, scold") and Dutch schimpen ("to mock, make fun of, scold"). It is possibly distantly related to change.
From scamp and scrimp, with which it shares an origin in 16th-century thieves' slang for short measure or insufficient supply. The precise route remains unclear; the three words have circulated as near-synonyms for mean or inadequate dealing ever since.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Synonyms
Antonyms
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.B2 FirstIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.5.5–6.5TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 4.0–4.572–94TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.785–944
- Frequency
- Occasional
- Level
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Updated
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englishreference.com/q/skimp
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「日本語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0