Meaning & use
shortage
Last updated
UK/ˈʃɔːtɪdʒ/
US/ˈʃɔːrtɪdʒ/
Meaning
nouncountable
A lack of enough of something that people need or want.
Grammar: Usually with of and often a: a shortage of nurses, a water shortage.
Patterns
- a shortage of something
- a shortage in something
There is a shortage of affordable housing in the city.
The drought caused a severe shortage of wheat.
Teachers are worried about a shortage of textbooks.
Word forms
| plural | shortages |
|---|
Common combinations
- acute shortage
- Hospitals face an acute shortage of blood.
- chronic shortage
- The town has a chronic shortage of doctors.
- labor shortage
- The labor shortage forced the restaurant to close early.
- ease a shortage
- Imports helped ease the fuel shortage.
- shortage of supplies
- A shortage of supplies delayed the repairs.
- face a shortage
- Farmers face a shortage of seasonal workers.
Synonyms and how they differ
- scarcity
- Scarcity suggests something is rare by nature or for a long time, while shortage points to not enough for current needs.
- deficit
- Deficit often refers to a measured gap, especially in money, whereas shortage is the everyday word for things in short supply.
- lack
- Lack is more general and abstract, and can be used for qualities such as patience, unlike shortage.
- dearth
- Dearth is formal and literary, describing a striking scarcity.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: shortage or shortfall?
shortage vs shortfall
A shortfall is a specific amount missing from a target, usually money, while a shortage is a general lack of something.
Practice
Because of the heat wave, there was a ______ of fresh water.
Choose one answer.
Shortage of means not enough, which suits the effect of a heat wave. Surplus and glut mean an excess and are the opposite.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “shortage”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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