stint

Stint is a word with multiple related senses in English. As a noun, it most commonly refers to a fixed or limited period spent doing a particular job or activity, or a period of service in a position. It can also mean a fixed allowance of money or resources allotted for a task. As a verb, stint means to be sparing or frugal in supplying or granting something, or to restrict or withhold resources or opportunities.

In employment and professional usage, a stint denotes a defined term in a job, assignment, or posting. People speak of a two-year stint as a reporter or a short teaching stint at a university. In creative or public-service contexts, stints are common and are often understood as temporary engagements rather than long-term career moves. A stint may be voluntary or paid, depending on the context.

The verb sense of stint carries the idea of limitation or withholding. To stint on funding means to provide less than what is needed, or to be stingy about resources. The forms stinting and stinted are common in modern prose, used to describe constrained support, restricted opportunities, or limited durations.

Etymology traces the word to Middle English stinten, with related senses connected to stopping, restraining, or limiting. Over time, the meaning broadened to include both the notion of a defined period of service and the act of restricting or withholding, yielding the current noun and verb usages. Related terms include term, assignment, posting, tour, and period of service.