shortfall
Americannoun
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shortfalls
plural
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the quantity or extent by which something falls short; deficiency; shortage.
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the act or fact of falling short.
noun
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failure to meet a goal or a requirement
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the amount of such a failure; deficiency
a shortfall of £30m
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of shortfall
Explanation
If there's not enough of something, there's a shortfall. You expected to have plenty of Halloween candy, but a shortfall of Skittles has you running to the store to buy more. When an available quantity doesn't meet your needs, or there's a deficiency of something you want, you've got a shortfall. You might dump out your piggybank and discover a shortfall of cash, or start making a soufflé but find an egg shortfall when you open the fridge. This word comes from the idea of a supply that falls short of expectations.
Vocabulary lists containing shortfall
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A weak year for USC’s health system deepened the shortfall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
U.S. refineries have boosted their diesel exports, but they are running near capacity and are unable to make up for more of the global shortfall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
The UN refugees chief warned Monday about being "asked to do the impossible", with his agency over-stretched by a huge funding shortfall and heavy displacement.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
Most were ready to handle the revenue shortfall by increasing fees, assessments and utility taxes, according to the note.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
In five weeks, on November 29, the index of subprime mortgage bonds, called the ABX, would post its first interest-rate shortfall.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
As Metrolink faces budget shortfalls and service reductions, the regional commuter rail network is raising its ticket prices on Monday for the first time in 13 years by as much as 27%.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
A low cost of capital can cushion shortfalls.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
"The munitions expenditure on OEF has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply," the report said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
It did, however, note the inventory shortfalls and reveal "industrial base bottlenecks" for munitions resupply.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
It said that Governor Thomas Corbett had proposed that the state’s institutions of higher learning should consider closing their budget shortfalls by drilling for natural gas on their campuses.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
