dearth

American  

[durth] / dɜrθ /

noun

• dearths
  plural

1. an inadequate supply; scarcity; lack.

   There is a dearth of good engineers.

   Synonyms:

   insufficiency, paucity, want, shortage

   Antonyms:

   surplus, sufficiency, plenty, abundance

2. scarcity and dearness of food; famine.

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dearth British  

/ dɜːθ /

noun

1. an inadequate amount, esp of food; scarcity

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Usage

What does dearth mean? A dearth of something is a lack or scarcity of it. The word is especially used in serious situations in which there is a shortage of something important. It is usually followed by of and the thing that is lacking, as in a dearth of resources or a dearth of clean water. Much less commonly, dearth is used in a more specific way to refer to a scarcity of food—a famine. Example: The dearth of teachers has resulted in large class sizes.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• dearths
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of dearth

First recorded in 1200–50, dearth is from the Middle English word derthe. See dear ¹, -th ¹

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Explanation

If there is a dearth of something, there is not enough of it. A dearth of cupcakes is unfortunate, but a dearth of nutritious food is a serious problem. Dearth is an Old English noun formed from the adjective deore, "precious, costly," and the noun-forming suffix -th. Though the relationship of dearth meaning "lack, insufficient amount" to the adjective dear is not so obvious, it is still easy to imagine that something precious is probably also in short supply. Dearth is used almost exclusively in the phrase "a dearth of."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dearth dearths

While much has been made about the dearth of millennial homeowners, approximately 55.4 percent of millennials now own their homes, according to Redfin data from 2025.

From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026

Still, concern about the increased dearth of Black artists and Black art is legitimate.

From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2026

There’s also a dearth of inventory in many markets, which has led to a generation of renters in their 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

Although there are many constraints on AI’s growth—a shortage of memory chips, an uncertain return on investment, rising interest rates—the dearth of data centers looks like the more significant and immediate one.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

There was a dearth of pens that day in class.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

Old timber towns with shuttered mills, flood-soaked cities and rural areas left off high-speed broadband networks suffered dearths of economic opportunity, even as Puget Sound’s largest cities flourished with explosive tech growth.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 6, 2021

There is no vermin in the land like him: he slanders both heaven and earth with pretended dearths when there is no cause of scarcity.

From Character Writings of the 17th Century by Various

In attempting his salvation, by proffering advice to the "broken-hearted," he respectfully but firmly-131- declined; deliberately preferring old-bachelorship, with all its dearths, of which he seemed fully conscious.

From Social Life or, The Manners and Customs of Polite Society by Maud C. Cooke

The frequency of local dearths, and the diversity and fluctuation of prices, were thus extreme.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 4 "Coquelin" to "Costume" by Various

There appeared one of those dearths not unusual in Hindostan; the population of the famished province cried out for rice; the stores of which, diminished by nature, had for months mysteriously disappeared.

From Sybil, or the Two Nations by Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield

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Related Words

• absence
• deficiency
• inadequacy
• lack
• paucity
• shortage

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