/skɪmp/
OriginPerhaps of North Germanic origin, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *skimpijaną (“to skip, dance, gesture, mock”). Cognate with Icelandic skimpa (“to scoff at, scorn”), dialectal Swedish skimpa (“to skip, dance”), Faroese skumpa (“to shove, bump”), German schimpfen (“to grumble, scold”), Dutch schimpen (“to mock, make fun of, scold”). Possibly distantly related to change.
- Northern-England, ScotlandTo mock, deride, scorn, scold, make fun of.
“I thought Adie was only skimpin' me.”
- transitiveTo slight; to do carelessly; to scamp.
“I got out my wallet and let him have a look at my licenses, detective and driver's. He didn't skimp it, being a lawyer.”
- To make insufficient allowance for; to scant; to scrimp.
“The temptation to skimp examinations and maintenance procedures, to save time or overcome staff shortages, must be resisted, and supervisors must insist on strict adherence to maintenance schedules an”
“Apple’s investment bought something. Its shows feel professional. They look like premium products that no one skimped on.”
- intransitiveTo save; to be parsimonious or stingy.
- UK, US, colloquial, dated, dialectalScanty.
- A skimpy or insubstantial thing, especially a piece of clothing.
“I remembered how fierce it hurt and how it blistered. All that pain from just a skimp of flesh.”
- colloquial, in-pluralUnderwear.
“While presenting a rundown of the sexiest soap stars in the world in this week's ZOO, Hollyoaks' Gemma Atkinson very kindly stripped down to her skimps herself.”
Formsskimps(present, singular, third-person) · skimping(participle, present) · skimped(participle, past) · skimped(past) · more skimp(comparative) · most skimp(superlative) · skimps(plural)