# meager

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈmiɡɚ/ · frequency rank #27,213

## Definitions
1. Having little flesh; lean; thin.
2. Poor, deficient or inferior in amount, quality or extent
3. Of a set: such that, considered as a subset of a (usually larger) topological space, it is in a precise sense small or negligible.
4. Dry and harsh to the touch (e.g., as chalk).

## Etymology
From Middle English megre, from Anglo-Norman megre, Old French maigre, from Latin macer, from Proto-Indo-European *mh₂ḱrós. Akin, through the Indo-European root, to Old English mæġer (“meager, lean”), West Frisian meager (“meager”), Dutch mager (“meager”), German mager, Icelandic magr whence the Icelandic magur,
Norwegian Bokmål mager and Danish mager. Doublet of maigre.

## Easily confused with
- **meer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meager-vs-meer)
- **meter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meager-vs-meter)
- **merge** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meager-vs-merge)
- **Meyer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meager-vs-meyer)
- **Meier** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meager-vs-meier)
- **member** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meager-vs-member)
- **merger** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meager-vs-merger)
- **mercer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meager-vs-mercer)
- **meagre** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meager-vs-meagre)
- **meaner** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meager-vs-meaner)
- **Messer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meager-vs-messer)
- **meeker** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meager-vs-meeker)
- **monger** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meager-vs-monger)
- **Meijer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meager-vs-meijer)
- **meander** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meager-vs-meander)
- **Metzger** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meager-vs-metzger)
- **mage** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mage-vs-meager)
- **maker** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maker-vs-meager)
- **Mayer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mayer-vs-meager)
- **mater** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mater-vs-meager)

## Common misspellings (7)
`emager`, `maeger`, `meaegr`, `meagerr`, `meagger`, `megaer`, `mmeager`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/meager