Definition of dearth
2
: an inadequate supply : lack
- a dearth of evidence
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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
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The dearth of affordable housing is a major cause of homelessness here, where a tech boom led by Amazon has helped push home prices up by 19 percent a year.
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The firm was attracted to the site by the dearth of new industrial space in the immediate area, said Caroline Brzezinski, vice president.
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Initially, this dearth of new ideas isn’t so egregious; plenty of stories have aped Blade Runner for slick, sci-fi thrills and still managed to be insightful or at least entertaining.
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Among their complaints are a dearth of job opportunities, a struggling economy and a crumbling infrastructure with frequent power cuts.
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The Steelers’ top backup on the offensive line the last two seasons, Hubbard can play tackle or guard but given the dearth of quality linemen in the league should be able to find a starting tackle job somewhere.
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Capital spending began to rev up in 2017 as companies frustrated by the dearth of qualified job applicants bought more labor-saving equipment.
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As a result, many of the city’s poor who don’t have a car to reach the few supermarkets that are on the edge of the city suffer from a dearth of healthy food options.
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Given the dearth of aspiring magicians in Oxford, England, the two probably would have become friends even if their names were Finklestein and Smith.
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.
Origin and Etymology of dearth
Middle English derthe, from Old English *dierth, from dēore dear
NEW! Time Traveler
First Known Use: 13th century
in the meaning defined at sense 1
See Words from the same yeardearth Synonyms
Antonyms
Near Antonyms
abundance, amplitude, bounty, plenitude, plenteousness, plentifulness, plentitude, plenty, wealth;
excess, overabundance, oversupply, superabundance, surfeit, surplus;
bushel, deal, gobs, heap, loads, lot, mass, mountain, much, oodles, peck, pile, pot, quantity, raft, reams, scads, stack, volume, wad;
Related Words
deficiency, deficit, failure, famine, inadequacy, inadequateness, insufficiency, meagerness, paucity, poverty, scantiness, scantness, scarceness, scarcity, shortage, skimpiness, undersupply;
DEARTH Defined for English Language Learners
Definition of dearth for English Language Learners
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: the state or condition of not having enough of something
DEARTH Defined for Kids
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