shortage

noun

short·​age ˈshȯr-tij 

: lack, deficit

Synonyms

• crunch
• dearth
• deficiency
• deficit
• drought
• drouth
• failure
• famine
• inadequacy
• inadequateness
• insufficiency
• lack
• lacuna
• paucity
• pinch
• poverty
• scantiness
• scarceness
• scarcity
• undersupply
• want

Examples of shortage in a Sentence

there was a troubling shortage of supplies for the troops overseas this year

Recent Examples on the Web

The cybersecurity industry is facing a critical shortage of skilled professionals as threats from nation-state actors and cybercriminals escalate fueled by easy access to AI tools. —Emil Sayegh, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025

Analysis by the think tank outlines how despite Putin's record spending, Russia's military industrial complex (MIC) is still beset by labor and component shortages, a collapse in arms exports and difficulties in modernizing. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 21 Mar. 2025

Those shortages have allowed compounding pharmacies to produce and sell their own versions of GLP-1 drugs. —Fran Kritz, Verywell Health, 21 Mar. 2025

One of their strategies is to build homes on some of the 650 million acres of federal land as a way to face the housing shortage. —Rebecca Schneid, TIME, 20 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1868, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing shortage

• no shortage of

Rhymes for shortage

• reportage

Kids Definition

shortage

noun

short·​age ˈshȯrt-ij 

: a lack in the amount needed : deficit

a shortage of cash

a gasoline shortage