scrimp
/skɹɪmp/noun, verb, adjective
scrimp is spelled S-C-R-I-M-P: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 95,993rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, scrimp means “A pinching miser; a niggard” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of scrimp is scrimps.
How many letters and syllables are in scrimp?
| Letters | 6: S-C-R-I-M-P |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 10 million words; the 95,993rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is scrimp?
Scrimp appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 95,993rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce scrimp?
- /skɹɪmp/
Scrimp has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-scrimp.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of scrimp
- scrimps plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- scrimping participle, present
- scrimped participle, past
- more scrimp comparative
- most scrimp superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does scrimp mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A pinching miser; a niggard.
verb
- 1
To make too small or short; to shortchange.
to scrimp the pattern of a coat
- 2
To limit or straiten; to put on short allowance.
- 3
To be frugal, whether to a reasonable and wise extent or to a miserly and unwise extent.
adjective
- 1
Short; scanty; curtailed.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does scrimp come from?
From Scots scrimp (“meager”), from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German schrimpen (“to shrivel up, wrinkle”), from Old Dutch *scrimpan, from Frankish *skrimpan, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *skrimpaną (“to shrink”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut off”), related to Old English sċrimman (“to shrink”) and sċrincan (“to shrivel up”). Doublet of shrink, shrimp, and shrim.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).