as in lack
a falling short of an essential or desirable amount or number
there was a troubling shortage of supplies for the troops overseas this year
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Recent Examples of shortage
America is short by about 4 million homes needed to address the supply shortage and return housing to affordable levels in this country, according to Goldman Sachs Research.
—
Ramishah Maruf, CNN Money, 8 Jan. 2026
But in a city with a dire housing shortage, the gap has sharpened scrutiny of policies that critics say make building in Kansas City more difficult.
—David Hudnall, Kansas City Star, 8 Jan. 2026
This comes as Oklahoma, which is considered a child care desert, faces a shortage of qualified workers and lawmakers continue to grapple with finding solutions.
—Emma Murphy, Oklahoma Voice, 8 Jan. 2026
In blue-collar and service jobs, Dr Richardson added, candidates have been getting promoted at the same rate as generations before them because there is such a shortage of labor.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 8 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shortage
Ramishah Maruf, CNN Money, 8 Jan. 2026
But in a city with a dire housing shortage, the gap has sharpened scrutiny of policies that critics say make building in Kansas City more difficult.
—David Hudnall, Kansas City Star, 8 Jan. 2026
This comes as Oklahoma, which is considered a child care desert, faces a shortage of qualified workers and lawmakers continue to grapple with finding solutions.
—Emma Murphy, Oklahoma Voice, 8 Jan. 2026
In blue-collar and service jobs, Dr Richardson added, candidates have been getting promoted at the same rate as generations before them because there is such a shortage of labor.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 8 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shortage
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shortage
Noun
-
The court acquitted Kim of two other charges, citing a lack of evidence and other reasons.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
29 Jan. 2026
-
The meeting was canceled because of a lack of a quorum.—
Benjamin Weinthal,
FOXNews.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The state has since stated that the medical center has corrected the deficiencies.—
Tony Saavedra,
Oc Register,
24 Jan. 2026
-
Older leaves often show the deficiency first.—
Tom MacCubbin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Solving the data gap One of the biggest challenges in robotics remains training data scarcity.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Quickly melting snow has a negative impact on the world’s water sources, causing water scarcity, which contributes to negative global warming trends.—
Laura Kiniry,
Popular Science,
22 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shortage.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shortage. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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