if something is scarce, there is not enough of it and it is only available in small quantities 缺乏的；不足的；稀少的 scarce resources 稀缺资源 Details of the accident are scarce. 事故的详细情况了解不多。 Food was becoming scarce. 食物越来越紧缺。
Extra ExamplesMoney was extremely scarce after the war. 战后资金极为匮乏。 Skilled workers were becoming increasingly scarce. 技术工人越来越稀缺。 Butterflies are getting scarcer and scarcer in industrialized areas. 在工业化地区，蝴蝶越来越稀少了。 Land suitable for building on is scarce. 建筑用地稀缺。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- seem
- become
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
Word OriginMiddle English (in the sense ‘restricted in quantity or size’, also ‘mean’): from a shortening of Anglo-Norman escars, from a Romance word meaning ‘plucked out, selected’.
Idioms
make yourself scarce
- (informal)
to leave somewhere and stay away for a time in order to avoid an unpleasant situation 躲开；回避；溜走 I could see he was annoyed so I made myself scarce. 我看得出他很生气，所以我躲开了。