sparse
Use Sparse in a sentence
adjective, spars·er, spars·est.
1.
thinly scattered or distributed: a sparse population.
2.
not thick or dense; thin: sparse hair.
3.
scanty; meager.
sɪ
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To Sparse
00:10
Sparse
is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
sparse (spɑːs) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| scattered or scanty; not dense | |
| [C18: from Latin sparsus, from spargere to scatter] | |
| 'sparsely | |
| —adv | |
| 'sparseness | |
| —n | |
| 'sparsity | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
sparse
1727, from L. sparsus "scattered," pp. of spargere "to scatter, spread," from PIE base *(s)pregh- "to jerk, scatter" (cf. Skt. parjanya- "rain, rain god," Avestan fra-sparega "branch, twig," lit. "that which is jerked off a tree," O.N. freknur "freckles," Swed. dial. sprygg "brisk, active," Lith. sprogti
"shoot, bud," O.Ir. arg "a drop").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Cite This Source
FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary
sparse definition
A sparse matrix (or vector, or array) is one in which most of the elements are zero. If storage space is more important than access speed, it may be preferable to store a sparse matrix as a list of (index, value) pairs or use some kind of hash scheme or associative memory.
(1995-01-16)
Example sentences
We place patterns on the data, no matter how sparse, in order to make some sense to it.
Some of these same megachurches remained open them, they say, but found attendance sparse.
He has a taste for lowering gray skies and dark roads barely penetrated by sparse headlights.
Relatively sparse roads and train lines have made the coastal cities in these prefectures less attractive to companies.
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