dearth

noun \ ˈdərth \

Definition of dearth

1 :scarcity that makes dear; specifically :famine

2 :an inadequate supply :lack

a dearth of evidence

See dearth defined for English-language learners

See dearth defined for kids

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Examples of dearth in a Sentence

It may also be a respite for booksellers, who have been grumbling for several years about sluggish sales and a dearth of dependable blockbuster fiction. —Julie Bosman, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2006
… Earnhardt has recently hinted that a company-wide dearth of talent is the core reason his Chevy simply isn't as fast in 2005 as it's been in the past. —Lars Anderson, Sports Illustrated, 11 Apr. 2006
AirNet, which hauls bank checks and other time-critical freight, used to require that its pilots have at least 1,200 hours of flight experience. Then, faced with a dearth of experienced applicants, it dropped the requirement to 500 hours. Now, it has no minimum. —Scott McCartney, Wall Street Journal, 10 Aug. 2000
there was a dearth of usable firewood at the campsite
the dearth of salesclerks at the shoe store annoyed us

Recent Examples of dearth from the Web

Michael Silverman, a managing director at Integra Realty Resources in Philadelphia, said Dranoff was apparently responding to a dearth of new, high-end condos in Center City.

— jacob adelman, Philly.com, "Market shift pitches Dranoff toward condos on South Broad corner," 24 Aug. 2017
Better control of Zika's vector, the Aedes aegypti mosquito that thrives in the hotter, southern part of the country, doesn't explain the dearth of cases.

— ryan cross, Science | AAAS, "Top stories: Disappearing Zika, tricky eclipses, and the world’s oldest ice cores," 18 Aug. 2017
The dearth of information made the case fodder for internet conspiracy mongers, who floated links to political scandals.

— jay weaver, miamiherald, "Last hours leading to prosecutor’s mysterious death detailed in new police report," 15 Aug. 2017
Some Republicans blame the dearth of early voting in Marion County on a lack of local funding.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "There Are Two New Fronts in the War on Voting," 11 Aug. 2017
Meanwhile, here is a map from CMS projecting the dearth of health plans in many counties for 2018.

— robert laszewski, National Review, "Is Part of the Health-Insurance Market Entering a Death Spiral?," 3 Aug. 2017
Experts say the dearth of listings has aggressively driven up prices as prospective buyers compete for available properties, pushing many buyers at the lower end of the market to the sidelines.

— randy tucker, Cincinnati.com, "Some first-time home buyers hit affordability wall in Cincinnati," 27 July 2017
The relatively low turnover rate is in part because of the dearth of wooden coasters built on an annual basis, six or fewer per year during that period.

— brady macdonald, chicagotribune.com, "Does this little amusement park really have the best wooden coaster in the world?," 20 July 2017
A dearth of qualified teachers One of those communities is Aberdeen, Miss., where the population is less than 5,500 and the poverty rate is 35 percent.

— story hinckley, The Christian Science Monitor, "Wanted: Teachers willing to work 'in the middle of nowhere'," 12 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dearth.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Where Does the Word dearth Come From?

The facts about the history of the word dearth are quite simple: the word derives from the Middle English form "derthe," which has the same meaning as our modern term. That Middle English form is assumed to have developed from an Old English form that was probably spelled "dierth" and was related to "dēore," the Old English form that gave us the word dear. ("Dear" also once meant "scarce," but that sense of the word is now obsolete.) Some form of "dearth" has been used to describe things that are in short supply since at least the 13th century, when it often referred to a shortage of food.