What does meagre mean?
Meagre describes something that is notably insufficient in amount, extent, or quality. A meagre supply provides barely enough of something, while a meagre diet or meal lacks nourishment or substantial ingredients. Meagre information is limited, inadequate, or unhelpful, and a meagre account of an event gives too little detail to explain it fully. The adjective can also describe a person who is extremely thin, particularly from hunger, illness, or poor living conditions, though this sense is now less common than the figurative meanings about scarcity. Meagre is more formal and often more emphatic than words such as slight or limited, suggesting a shortage that is serious enough to be noteworthy. In British English the traditional spelling is meagre, while the standard American spelling is meager; both forms are pronounced alike in their respective varieties.
Insufficient in quantity, size, degree, or quality.
"The farmers received a meagre rainfall throughout the growing season."
This is the dominant modern sense and is commonly used with supply, resources, information, income, and similar abstractions.
Very thin or lean, especially as a result of inadequate nourishment or illness.
"The rescued dog was weak and meagre."
This physical sense is less common today and may sound literary or dated.
From Latin macer, meaning “lean” or “thin,” meagre entered English with the sense of a thin body before extending to anything insufficient or sparse.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does meagre come from?
Meagre entered English in the 16th century from French maigre, meaning “lean” or “thin.” The French word derives from Latin macer, used both physically of a lean body and metaphorically of poverty or scarcity. English subsequently extended the adjective from physical thinness to broader meanings involving insufficiency, inadequacy, and lack of quality or substance.
Related word forms
How meagre is actually used
The usual British spelling is meagre; American English normally uses meager. The word is formal and often conveys a stronger sense of inadequacy than the milder words sparse or limited.
Easily confused with meagre
Meagre is the traditional British spelling, while meager is the standard spelling in American English; both have the same meaning.
Malignant describes harmfulness or the tendency to spread uncontrollably, especially in cancer, whereas meagre describes insufficiency or thinness.