scarce

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++scarce1 /skeəs $ skers/ ●●○ adjective (comparative scarcer, superlative scarcest)  1  RAREif something is scarce, there is not very much of it available 不足的，缺乏的，稀少的 Food was often scarce in the winter. 冬季常常粮食短缺。 There was fierce competition for the scarce resources. 对这些紧缺资源的争夺非常激烈。2  make yourself scarce informalLEAVE A PLACE to leave a place, especially in order to avoid an unpleasant situation 〔为避免出现令人不快的情形而〕离开，溜走 I decided it was time to make myself scarce. 我觉得自己该走了。

Examples from the Corpus

scarce• After the war, food and clothing were scarce.• During the war, things like clothes and shoes were scarce.• With the increase in trade, good timber for shipbuilding was becoming scarcer.• Entirely reliable facts, other than those here mentioned, are scarce.• New-model Golfs are still scarce and dealers are paying high prices to secure them.• Thus, female orangutans choose to live alone in strict territories, the better to exploit their scarce food resources.• Aye, but you must remember that money was so scarce in the thirties that you couldn't miss anything.• Water is always scarce in these parts.• Cheap, clean hotel rooms are scarce in this city, especially in the summer.• In consequence, amphibian fossils become very scarce indeed in later geological periods and there are long gaps in their fossil history.• There is evidence that volatile materials have always been scarce on the Moon.• Mayors have to juggle scarce resources to keep their cities working.• Government departments often found themselves competing for scarce resources.• There the principal threat to the diversity of fish has been competition with man for scarce supplies of water.scarce resources• At the same time others may, through overfunding, be absorbing an unfair amount of scarce resources. 2.• Such decisions may have substantial implications for individual and social welfare and the allocation of scarce resources.• Gaining approval, competing for scarce resources, and obtaining cooperation require managers to develop bases of power beyond positional authority.• It is a process whereby scarce resources are allocated among competing powers and claimants.• Create and focus energy and meaningful language because they are the scarcest resources during periods of change.• For Hughes and Sumner there is too much competition for scarce resources for that to be convincing.• Thus old people preserved their dignity; the community preserved its scarce resources for the young.• Because of this, a strong administrative apparatus was needed to plan the use of scarce resources, organize production and regulate distribution.scarce2 adverb literary  JUST/ALMOST NOTscarcely 几乎不[没有] He could scarce believe it. 他几乎无法相信此事。

Examples from the Corpus

scarce• It is past before it has scarce begun.• The picture forming in his mind was clearer, more distinct, though he could scarce believe it.• With his own wife he scarce dare attempt it.• The problem of the prophecies was solved albeit in a way he had scarce expected.• Her memory returned fully ... She remembered quite clearly what she had been doing scarce ten minutes ago.From Longman Business Dictionaryscarcescarce /skeəsskers/ adjective if something is scarce, there is not enough of it availableHere, land is a scarce resource and house prices have risen sharply.Jobs are scarce. —scarcity noun [singular, uncountable]the present scarcity of labourOrigin scarce1 (1200-1300) Old North French escars, from Vulgar Latin excarpsus “pulled out”, from Latin excerpere; → EXCERPT

scarce1 adjectivescarce2 adverbChinese  

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scarce

I

scarce¹ /skeəs $ skers/ adjective (comparative scarcer, superlative scarcest)1. if something is scarce, there is not very much of it available:
    Food was often scarce in the winter.
    There was fierce competition for the scarce resources.
2. make yourself scarce informal to leave a place, especially in order to avoid an unpleasant situation:
    I decided it was time to make myself scarce.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ rare not existing in large numbers or in large amounts: The law prevents the export of rare birds. | The plates are quite rare. Only about a hundred were made.
   ▪ scarce not available in large enough numbers or amounts at a particular time – used especially about things people need: After the war, food and clothing were scarce. | People are having to compete for scarce resources.
   ▪ not common [not before noun] fairly rare: Silver coins of this period are not common, and could be very valuable.
   ▪ infrequent formal not happening often: As time went on, her visits became more and more infrequent.
   ▪ be few and far between to not be common – especially much less common than you might expect: Luckily, accidents such as these are few and far between. | Bargains are, unfortunately, few and far between.
   ▪ be (something of) a rarity if something or someone is a rarity, it is surprising to find one, because very few exist: Women are still something of a rarity in senior management positions.
   ▪ be like hen’s teeth informal to be extremely rare: Good Greek restaurants are like hen’s teeth around here.

II

scarce² adverb literary
scarcely:
    He could scarce believe it.