Meaning & use
scarcity
A shortage or insufficient supply of something needed or wanted.
See it in a sentence
The drought caused a severe scarcity of clean drinking water in the region.
Economics studies how people make choices under conditions of scarcity.
A note on using this word
A central concept in economics, describing how limited resources must be allocated among unlimited wants.
Words with a similar meaning
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “scarcity”, then compare your use with the examples above.
Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.