Shortage
['ʃɔːtɪdʒ] or ['ʃɔrtɪdʒ]
Definition
(n.) Amount or extent of deficiency, as determined by some requirement or standard; as, a shortage in money accounts.
Editor: Simon
Examples
- The shortage of houses in the last months of 1919 amounted to scores of thousands in Britain alone. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- The production of South American rubber is limited by a shortage of men rather than a shortage of trees. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- This system has been of great value in preventing a shortage of coal during strikes. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- And things were exacerbated by a shortage of provisions--for which the king's government was held guilty. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
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