Shortage Moderate

Origin: French suffix -age

Shortage has 3 different meanings across 1 category:

Noun

Definitions

Noun

the property of being an amount by which something is less than expected or required

"new blood vessels bud out from the already dilated vascular bed to make up the nutritional deficit"

deficit shortage shortfall

an acute insufficiency

"The severe shortage of clean water left the entire village without access to drinking supplies during the drought."

dearth famine shortage

A lack or deficiency; an insufficient amount.

"The sudden shortage of fresh vegetables forced the market to close early."

In plain English: A shortage is when there isn't enough of something to meet everyone's needs.

"The sudden shortage of fresh vegetables caused prices to rise at the local market."

Usage: Use shortage to describe a situation where there are fewer items available than needed, often due to high demand or supply issues. It differs from scarcity in that it implies the resource exists but is currently unavailable rather than being inherently rare.

Example Sentences

"The sudden shortage of fresh vegetables caused prices to rise at the local market." noun

"The recent shortage of milk left many families unable to make their morning coffee." noun

"A severe water shortage forced the town to implement strict rationing rules last summer." noun

"We are experiencing a temporary shortage of skilled workers in the local construction industry." noun

Origin

The word shortage is a straightforward combination of the adjective short and the suffix -age. It entered English simply by joining these two parts to describe a lack or deficiency of something.

Rhyming Words

age sage tage rage wage aage mage yage lage cage gage page nage kage swage adage plage brage phage stage

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