For the adjective meaning deficient or lean, meager is the preferred spelling in American English. Meagre is preferred in all other varieties of English. Other than the spelling, there is no difference between the two forms.
The American spelling is meager, British spelling meagre, the variations appear in the main entry in boldface entry words( being the most common spelling the one that goes first)
Explanation:
Some words that have a French, Latin or Greek origen change their spelling when it comes to britsh writting, some examples of it are: theater vs theatre, center vs centre. although there are many exceptions to this rule within mother English.
The dictionary entries may differ in the way they present the different spelling options according to the kind of alternative word they are offering.
