scamp
Use Scamp in a sentence
noun
1.
an unscrupulous and often mischievous person; rascal; rogue; scalawag.
2.
a playful, mischievous, or naughty young person; upstart.
3.
a grouper, Mycteroperca phenax, of Florida: so called from its habit of stealing bait.
verb (used with object)
4.
to do or perform in a hasty or careless manner: to scamp work.
Origin:
1775–85; obsolete scamp to travel about idly or for mischief, perhaps < obsolete Dutch schampen to be gone < Old French escamper to decamp
1775–85; obsolete scamp to travel about idly or for mischief, perhaps < obsolete Dutch schampen to be gone < Old French escamper to decamp
Related forms
scamp·er, noun
scamp·ing·ly, adverb
scamp·ish, adjective
scamp·ish·ly, adverb
scamp·ish·ness, noun
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 scamp
00:10
Scamp
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is peculate. Does it mean:
| to spend time idly; loaf. |
| to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
scamp1 (skæmp) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | an idle mischievous person; rascal |
| 2. | a mischievous child |
| [C18: from scamp (vb) to be a highway robber, probably from Middle Dutch schampen to decamp, from Old French escamper, from es- | |
| 'scampish1 | |
| —adj | |
| scamp2 (skæmp) | |
| —vb | |
| a less common word for skimp | |
| 'scamper2 | |
| —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
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
scamp
1782, "highway robber," probably from dialectal verb scamp "to roam" (1753), shortened from scamper. Used affectionately in sense "rascal" since 1808.
scamp
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
scamp definition[skæmp]
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Example sentences
By that time her engagement to the scamp has been announced, more in pique than anything else.
The answer is related to two issues that correspond to the two halves of the journalistic soul, the scamp and the saint.
He is a fierce dramatic firebrand trying to be a frisky scamp.
Large predatory species that are commonly found here include groupers such as scamp and snowy grouper, red snapper, and amberjack.
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