Definition of dearth
Explore M-W
dearth was our Word of the Day on 09/28/2012. Hear the podcast!
Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP
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
-
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.
-
Normand thinks the short winter and low water levels contributed to the dearth of tails.
-
But new mining-dedicated graphics cards from AMD and Nvidia’s hardware partners might help ease the dearth of gaming hardware.
-
The problem in Turkey—and elsewhere in the Middle East—is that as politicians purposefully polarize their own societies for political profit, there is a dearth of democratic institutions through which people can process their grievances.
-
While analysts said the move could be part of a broader campaign to curb risk in the banking system, the dearth of communication from regulators fueled unconfirmed rumors that the companies had been targeted for political reasons.
-
In Bob Feller's three no-hitters, admittedly a skewed sample because of the dearth of offense, the games took less than 2 1/2 hours to play -- 2:24, 2:14 and 2:05.
-
With the U.S. unemployment rate at a 16-year-low of 4.3 percent, employers across the country are dealing with a dearth of potential hires.
-
Right now there really is a dearth of people with scientific and technical backgrounds at all levels of government.
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
DEARTH Defined for English Language Learners
dearth
playDefinition of dearth for English Language Learners
-
: the state or condition of not having enough of something
DEARTH Defined for Kids
Learn More about dearth
-
See words that rhyme with dearth Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for dearth Spanish Central: Translation of dearth Nglish: Translation of dearth for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of dearth for Arabic speakers
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up dearth? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!