1. A fixed period of time spent on a task or job: Marissa had to do a two-year stint as an apprentice in her new job.
2. An individual's prescribed share of work: Harriet's stint as a nanny prepared her for motherhood.
3. A limitation or restriction; especially, in time or amount: Josie was told that there was a stint of six months during which she could apply for early retirement.
4. An unbroken period of time during which something is done: Mike's stint as an administrative assistant prepared him for his new position as a senior manager.
5. A pause or stoppage: After a long session of working on the project, the director suggested that the group take a stint and have some refreshments.
6. The smallest American sandpiper or bird with long legs and a long thin beak: James saw several stints on the beach of the sea this summer.
7. Etymology: "to limit, to restrain, or to be sparing or frugal"; from Old English styntan "to blunt, to make dull".

1. To supply sparingly and with restricted quantities: He tends to be stinting with praise for their good work.
2. To restrict or to limit, as in amount or number: He doesn't stint with his eating.
3. To subsist on a meager allowance: The parents stint on the amount of money they let their children spend.