cheeseparing

cheeseparing is the present participle and gerund of cheesepare.

Meaning of cheesepare

cheesepare (third-person singular simple present cheesepares, present participle cheeseparing, simple past and past participle cheesepared)

(intransitive) To pinch pennies; to be stingy or miserly.
- “It is quite true that we have had to make what we can out of very little–and that, as you know, is typical of out whole position here.”
  ”Yes, you are practically without endowments?”
  The question was offered so as to include the Dean, who said cheerfully:
  ”Quite right. All done by cheeseparing.”1935, Dorothy L. Sayers, Gaudy Night

cheeseparing (comparative more cheeseparing, superlative most cheeseparing)

Niggardly, stingy.
- For those who waste their time on reflection it is curious to note that although, as has been pointed out, “in-lawry” is the common fate of the entire human race—you may get through life untouched by fire, water, small-pox, or bankruptcy, but here is no escape—the entire human race continues to...1898 April 1, “Social Suggestions for 1898. IX.—A Plea for the ‘In-Law.’”, in The Westminster Gazette, special edition, volume XI, number 1,588, London: […] John Marshall, […], →OCLC, page 1, column 3
- But when a chimney ain’t never been swep’ through, on account of persons’ cheeseparin’ ‘abits, then it ain’t fair on the chimney, nor yet it ain’t fair on the sweep.1937, Dorothy L. Sayers, Busman's Honeymoon

cheeseparing (plural cheeseparings)

A small fragment or sliver.
- For this reason I publish it periodically in parts, and in the light unrestrained form of conversation, as best adapted for the convenience of those who can only read at odd hours during the cheeseparings of time.1841, Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, volume 50, page 740

What does cheeseparing mean?: Cheeseparing means niggardly, stingy.
What is cheeseparing the present participle and gerund of?: Cheeseparing is the present participle and gerund of cheesepare.
What part of speech is cheeseparing?: Cheeseparing can be an adjective or a noun.

Adapted from Wiktionary: cheeseparing (page history and authors); cheesepare (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “cheeseparing.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/cheeseparing. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.