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
The war has caused a humanitarian crisis across the territory, with health officials in Gaza reporting that 367 people, including 131 children, have so far died of malnutrition and starvation caused by acute food shortages.
—
Nidal Al-Mughrabi, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025
The survey highlights the financial struggles of medical students as the nation faces a doctor shortage.
—Amy Feldman, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
The outbreak was forcing a shortage of eggs as well, leading some grocers to restrict how many dozens of eggs consumers could buy per visit.
—Olivia Evans, Louisville Courier Journal, 3 Sep. 2025
There is a solution already before Congress: the End Kidney Deaths Act (H.R. 2687), a bipartisan bill that could finally end the kidney shortage.
—Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shortage
Nidal Al-Mughrabi, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025
The survey highlights the financial struggles of medical students as the nation faces a doctor shortage.
—Amy Feldman, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
The outbreak was forcing a shortage of eggs as well, leading some grocers to restrict how many dozens of eggs consumers could buy per visit.
—Olivia Evans, Louisville Courier Journal, 3 Sep. 2025
There is a solution already before Congress: the End Kidney Deaths Act (H.R. 2687), a bipartisan bill that could finally end the kidney shortage.
—Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shortage
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shortage
Noun
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And the noticeable dips also don’t come for the generations of players who would be expecting to play their peak years for England during wartime either — note the lack of games in the 1940s in the earlier graph.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
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The lack of winning has been exactly the problem during the Chuba years at Carolina.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Most people get a sufficient amount of this key vitamin through their diets alone—biotin can be found in beef liver and eggs, and for those without a biotin deficiency, biotin is unlikely to help.—
Brianna Peters,
Vogue,
6 Sep. 2025
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Folate deficiency in a mother increases the risk of neural tube defects including spina bifida, but the link to autism is unclear.—
Jon Hamilton,
NPR,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Water scarcity is a huge global issue.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
6 Sep. 2025
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Who are any of these actors or directors in a world where movies might become a scarcity?—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The premium on French 30-year bonds breached a level last seen in 2008 as the government is on the brink of collapse, putting the country’s deficit reduction plans at risk .—
Jenni Reid,
CNBC,
3 Sep. 2025
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In fact, the outcome is precisely what the industry predicted when lawmakers voted for the per-bet taxes earlier this year in order to raise $36 million to help plug a budget deficit in the hundreds of millions.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shortage.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shortage. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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