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

In 2021, as automakers tried to ramp up production that had been curtailed in the first year of the pandemic, a shortage of parts, most notably computer chips, cut into car production. —Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2025

Labor costs, in particular, have ballooned amid staffing shortages and wage hikes, with much of the value siphoned off by contract labor firms. —Richard Menger Md Mpa, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025

Aviation safety news: FAA to hire 2,000 air traffic controllers amid shortages, tightens Boeing oversightNeed a break? —David Shepardson, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2025

In addition to the rising cost of repairs, labor shortages, driving habits and increasing crash trends have driven up the cost of automobile insurance premiums, aggravating the total cost of owning and operating personal cars and trucks. —John Kelly, CBS News, 1 Apr. 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