Sparse means thinly scattered or spread out, with large empty spaces between things. Picture a desert landscape where you might see one cactus here, another way over there, and long stretches of sand with nothing growing at all. That's sparse vegetation.

When a crowd is sparse, there aren't many people: a movie theater might have only a few viewers scattered across many empty rows. When details are sparse, there isn't much information: a newspaper article with sparse facts leaves readers wanting to know more. Hair can become sparse as people age, with more scalp showing through. A sparse forest has trees spread far apart, unlike a dense forest where trees grow close together.

The word often suggests something is less plentiful than you'd expect or hope for. Sparse attendance at your school play might feel disappointing. Sparse rainfall in a farming region creates problems for crops. When furniture is sparse in a room, it feels empty or bare.

The opposite of sparse is dense, thick, or abundant. Think of the difference between a sparsely populated prairie town, with houses far apart, and a densely packed city where buildings crowd together.