scant·y (sk?n?t?)adj. scant·i·er, scant·i·est 1. Small or insufficient in amount, size, or extent: scanty rations; scanty evidence.2. Not covering a considerable amount of the body: a scanty bathing suit.scant?i·ly adv.scant?i·ness n.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.scanty (?skænt?) adj, scantier or scantiest1. limited; barely enough; meagre2. insufficient; inadequate3. lacking fullness; small ?scantily adv ?scantiness nCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014scant?y (?skæn ti) adj. scant?i?er, scant?i?est, adj. 1. insufficient in amount, extent, or degree. n. 2. scanties, very brief underpants, esp. for women. [1650?60; scant (in obsolete or dial. n. sense ?dearth?) + -y1; (definition 4)b. scanty and panties] scant?i?ly, adv. scant?i?ness, n. syn: scanty, meager, sparse refer to insufficiency or deficiency in quantity, number, etc. scanty denotes smallness or insufficiency of quantity, number, supply, etc.: a scanty supply of food. meager indicates that something is poor, stinted, or inadequate: meager fare; a meager income. sparse applies particularly to that which grows thinly or is thinly distributed: sparse vegetation; a sparse population. Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.