How to Use measly in a Sentence

measly

adjective
  • All I want is a few measly minutes of your time.
  • She complained about being given such a measly raise.
  • Doss, who shot the lights out against the Shamrocks, went a measly 2/11 from 3-point range.
    J.l. Kirven, The Courier-Journal, 15 Jan. 2022
  • The Celtics are a four-and-a-half-point favorite with the total set at a measly 218.5 points.
    Nick Hennion, Chicago Tribune, 1 Mar. 2023
  • Tonight, the Heat are a one-and-a-half-point road favorite with the total set at a measly 219 points.
    Nick Hennion, Chicago Tribune, 20 Jan. 2023
  • In an Instant Pot, you'll be done with the whole process in a measly 5 minutes.
    Audrey Bruno, SELF, 8 Mar. 2018
  • Their hair was burnt down to a few measly centimeters from the scalp.
    TIME.com, 6 Aug. 2017
  • For a team that could score 74 points in a half, what’s a measly 14-point margin to overcome?
    Bob Ford, Philly.com, 16 Apr. 2018
  • The Ravens are two-and-a-half-point home favorites with the total sitting at a measly 35 points.
    Nick Hennion, Chicago Tribune, 1 Jan. 2023
  • The Nets are a one-and-a-half-point road favorite on Thursday night with the total set at a measly 220.5.
    Nick Hennion, Chicago Tribune, 19 Jan. 2023
  • Measuring just 20 miles wide, MU69 appeared to be a measly speck in the sky.
    Jason Daley, Smithsonian, 10 Aug. 2017
  • The device has a measly 8GB of storage for the entire OS and all your apps and updates.
    Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 24 Jan. 2022
  • The odds of taking home the winning jackpot were a measly one in 302.6 million.
    Phil Helsel, NBC News, 7 Jan. 2023
  • And Texas had mustered just one measly road win in five attempts.
    Nick Moyle, San Antonio Express-News, 4 June 2018
  • Step back, zoom out, stop clinging to your measly private past.
    Willing Davidson, The New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2023
  • Paul was a measly 2-8 from the floor, scoring only seven points.
    Don Yaeger, Forbes, 18 Apr. 2023
  • Of course, Allen was way too elated to be meeting Markle (and get a hug from her) to care about the measly makeup stain.
    Kaleigh Fasanella, Allure, 8 Nov. 2019
  • Try fitting one of those in a measly hip pack! Fast-forward to last summer.
    The Editors, Outside Online, 5 Aug. 2022
  • In one practice game, the team allowed just one run in 14 innings but the offense failed to match that measly amount.
    Robert Avery, Houston Chronicle, 26 Feb. 2020
  • Rafter, like the great Sampras, did reach number one in the rankings -- but only for one measly week.
    OregonLive.com, 27 June 2017
  • The Dolphins had to make the trade for a measly sixth-round pick, if just to take down the chances for Drake having a dynamic play to change a game.
    Dave Hyde, sun-sentinel.com, 29 Oct. 2019
  • In football, the shutout is the ultimate failure: 60 minutes and not a point to show for it, not even a measly field goal.
    Victor Mather, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2016
  • The measly windows facing the Atlantic were jettisoned—as were a wall or two—and a view was born.
    David Colman, ELLE Decor, 31 Oct. 2022
  • That's a measly 13 countries; the iPhone SE launched in 40 countries and is expected to add to that number.
    Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 30 Aug. 2020
  • That means the government was paid a measly export duty on it.
    Nataliya Vasilyeva, The Seattle Times, 27 Apr. 2017
  • What went less noticed is the defense allowed a measly eight points a game during that stretch.
    oregonlive, 9 Sep. 2021
  • For a single dollar, that’s around eight measly cents per glazed doughnut—the sweetest deal around!
    Abigail Wilt, Southern Living, 10 Dec. 2023
  • Social media seems to have decided that the Rams stole an all-pro corner from the Chiefs at a measly price.
    Albert Breer, SI.com, 1 Mar. 2018
  • After all, more than 200 moons zing around the measly eight planets in our own Solar System.
    Daniel Clery, Science | AAAS, 22 July 2021
  • The previous file size limit on WhatsApp was a measly 100MB.
    Jacob Siegal, BGR, 11 July 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'measly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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