SCARCE, adjective 1. Not plentiful or abundant; being in small quantity in proportion to the demand. We say, water is scarce wheat, rye, barley is scarce money is scarce when the quantity is not fully adequate to the demand. 2. Being few in number and scattered; rare; uncommon. Good horses are scarce The scarcest of all is a Pescennius Niger on a medallion well preserved.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI