as in lacks
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 shortages
Israel has limited aid to Gaza throughout the conflict, leading to desperate shortages of food and medicine.
—
Greg Myre, NPR, 9 Oct. 2025
Losing both cuts off nearly 20% of the state’s refining capacity and makes California susceptible to potential shortages if there are disruptions to foreign, waterborne supplies.
—Jordan Blum, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2025
The staffing shortages began Monday when the controllers started working without pay because of the shutdown.
—Corky Siemaszko, NBC news, 9 Oct. 2025
The unrest on the island nation, triggered by power cuts and water shortages, has grown to reflect wider public anger over inequality, a cost-of-living crisis, and unemployment.
—Preeti Jha, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2025
An independent review released in September found that Los Angeles County’s emergency response was hampered by outdated technology, staffing shortages and inconsistent evacuation procedures.
—Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
The tower at Chicago O’Hare, along with FAA facilities in Albuquerque, Atlanta, Boston, Fort Worth, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Newark Philadelphia also saw staffing shortages Tuesday.
—Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2025
Management later confirmed the closures, citing power and gas shortages, as well as insufficient purchase orders.
—Mayu Saini, Sourcing Journal, 2 Oct. 2025
The use of artificial intelligence to address workforce shortages has tripled since 2023, with 28% of companies now utilizing it.
—Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 2 Oct. 2025
Greg Myre, NPR, 9 Oct. 2025
Losing both cuts off nearly 20% of the state’s refining capacity and makes California susceptible to potential shortages if there are disruptions to foreign, waterborne supplies.
—Jordan Blum, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2025
The staffing shortages began Monday when the controllers started working without pay because of the shutdown.
—Corky Siemaszko, NBC news, 9 Oct. 2025
The unrest on the island nation, triggered by power cuts and water shortages, has grown to reflect wider public anger over inequality, a cost-of-living crisis, and unemployment.
—Preeti Jha, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2025
An independent review released in September found that Los Angeles County’s emergency response was hampered by outdated technology, staffing shortages and inconsistent evacuation procedures.
—Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
The tower at Chicago O’Hare, along with FAA facilities in Albuquerque, Atlanta, Boston, Fort Worth, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Newark Philadelphia also saw staffing shortages Tuesday.
—Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2025
Management later confirmed the closures, citing power and gas shortages, as well as insufficient purchase orders.
—Mayu Saini, Sourcing Journal, 2 Oct. 2025
The use of artificial intelligence to address workforce shortages has tripled since 2023, with 28% of companies now utilizing it.
—Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 2 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shortages
Noun
-
So Vegas has to hope that their forward depth is strong enough to balance out where their star power lacks, relative to other contenders.—
The Athletic NHL,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
-
This absence — of God, of love, of plain community spirit — is a metaphor for the whole parish, where everyone is defined by their own lacks and deficiencies, the weaknesses that cause Wicks to despise them and vow to bring down them all.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
For that reason, the vast majority of companies now employ human reviews and stand-alone testing tools or services to address generative AI’s deficiencies.—
Philipp Eisenhauer,
Harvard Business Review,
8 Oct. 2025
-
In their 11 matches in all competitions, Arne Slot’s side have scored eight goals in the 83rd minute or later, with those late strikes keeping results on track but masking defensive deficiencies and a lack of coherence, at times, in attack.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
On their own, these deficits would add to the national debt, which now exceeds $36 trillion — up from about $23 trillion in early 2020.—
Mike Winters,
CNBC,
8 Oct. 2025
-
The Phillies and Cubs look to avoid 2-0 deficits in their series.—
Tyler Everett,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
In addition to political persecution, returning Venezuelans would reenter a country teetering on collapse—maligned by hyperinflation, soaring unemployment, rampant crime, frequent power outages, water shortages and chronic scarcities of food and medicine.—
Antonio Maria Delgado,
Miami Herald,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shortages.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shortages. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.
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