shortage

Definitions

short + -age (state/condition). This uses the 'not enough' sense of short, not the length sense: a shortage is the state of being short of something — the supply has been 'cut off' before it meets demand.

Common Collocations

• 1.food shortage粮食短缺
• 2.labor shortage劳动力短缺
• 3.a shortage of缺乏……
• 4.acute shortage严重短缺
• 5.no shortage of不缺……

Example Sentences

• 1.

  A severe water shortage forced the city to ration supplies.

• 2.

  The hospital is struggling with a shortage of trained nurses.

• 3.

  There's no shortage of opinions on how to fix the economy.

Easily Confused

shortage vs scarcity — A shortage is a temporary gap between supply and demand (a sugar shortage that ends when stocks are refilled). Scarcity is a more permanent, structural lack (water scarcity in the desert). Quick test: fixable soon → shortage; built into the situation → scarcity.