lack

American  

[lak] / læk /

noun

1. an absence or inadequate amount of something needed, desirable, or customary.

   We had to severely limit our holiday gift shopping due to lack of funds.

   Lack of skill is the main reason he didn’t get the job.

   Synonyms:

   need, want, insufficiency, deficit, paucity, scarcity, dearth

   Antonyms:

   surplus

2. something missing or needed.

   After he left, they really felt the lack.

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verb (used with object)

• lacks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• lacked,
  past participle,  past
• lacking
  present participle

1. to be without or deficient in.

   She wants to become an actor, but unfortunately she lacks ability.

   Many of the villagers lacked even the basic necessities of life.

   Synonyms:

   need, want

2. to fall short of a target or requirement by (a particular amount).

   He lacks three votes to win.

verb (used without object)

• lacks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• lacked,
  past participle,  past
• lacking
  present participle

1. to be absent or missing, as something needed or desirable.

   Three votes are lacking to make a majority.

verb phrase

1. lack in to be short of or deficient in.

   What he lacks in brains, he makes up for in brawn.

lack British  

/ læk /

noun

1. an insufficiency, shortage, or absence of something required or desired

2. something that is required but is absent or in short supply

---

verb

1. to be deficient (in) or have need (of)

   to lack purpose

Usage

What are other ways to say lack? To lack something is to be without or deficient in it. How does lack compare to synonyms want, need, and require? Find out on Thesaurus.com. 

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• lacking
  present
• lacked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• lack
  simple
• lacks
  simple
• have lacked
  perfect
• has lacked
  perfect
• am lacking
  progressive
• are lacking
  progressive
• is lacking
  progressive
• have been lacking
  perfect progressive
• has been lacking
  perfect progressive

Past

• lacked
  simple
• had lacked
  perfect
• was lacking
  progressive
• were lacking
  progressive
• had been lacking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will lack
  simple
• will have lacked
  perfect
• will be lacking
  progressive
• will have been lacking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of lack

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English lak; cognate with Middle Low German lak, Middle Dutch lac “deficiency”; akin to Old Norse lakr “deficient”

Explanation

If you lack something, you need or want something that's missing. When there's a lack of food, people starve. There are a lot of things lacking in the world. If you have no video games, then you're lacking them. People who are thirsty and starving lack food and water. Many people lack money and health care. A lack of something is the opposite of an abundance of something. If you have plenty of books, then you don't lack them — though you may lack enough time to read them all.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lack lacks lacked lacking

Students are protesting about a lack of teachers and staff, overcrowded classrooms and run-down buildings.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

Apple stock is up 23% this year but shares lack a catalyst to move meaningfully higher.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

Schoenfeld said the heat wave — which is being driven by high pressure in Southern California and a lack of wind — does not have a clear cutoff.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

They often closely followed staff, who lack protective details, until they walked in and out of Mr. McConnell’s home or into their cars.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Despite the lack of leaves, the blackened trunks and fingerlike branches filled in all gaps, making the forest a huge ruin of impenetrability.

From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley

Newer generative AI systems can create footage that lacks many of the obvious artifacts associated with earlier deepfake technology, making them a more difficult target for detectors trained primarily on older forms of manipulation.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026

Minnesota’s defense under coordinator Brian Flores is tough to prepare for in a short week, and Miami lacks the personnel to keep up.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

The flooding has also renewed calls for diversifying the power mix in Nepal, which lacks coal or gas-fired generation capacity.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

I also have two older children who graduated in 2024 and 2026, as well as a fifth-grader, so I have some comparison points Ms. Hannah-Jones lacks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

“Perhaps my species lacks the capacity,” he said.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

The program lacked capacity and funding, according to Ukrainian officials at the time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

She encountered beaches typically teeming with tourists that were spookily empty, and fishermen unable to work because they lacked gasoline to go to sea.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

In the past, courts have supplied this important backstop in other widespread policy challenges, such as the public health threats of tobacco use and the opioid epidemic, that lacked adequate legislative or regulatory responses.

From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2026

The account, whose posts mostly lacked original substance, "only gained popularity because its dubious, sordid content was narrated by the attractive voice of a popular actor," Tsuda's legal team said, according to the court records.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

I lacked polish—the finishing details like pointed toes, knees pressed together, graceful hands, and full extensions through my arms and legs.

From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles

Even if rates don’t go up, someone relying too much on fixed income could find themselves lacking the liquidity needed for an unexpected emergency expense, such as a medical bill or home maintenance.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026

While a modest correction is probable in the near-term, RBC Capital Markets’ analysis of previous significant market drawdowns finds many of the telltale signs are lacking at present.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Nagy's team contributed analytical capabilities that helped the researchers determine how the cells were still obtaining cysteine from cystine despite lacking a working disulfide reductase system.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2026

But Amanda Seyfried’s Karen, a creative-writing teacher of convicts in Oklahoma, is nonetheless drawn to this man, someone who pays her the attention she is otherwise lacking.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

They are certainly an urban adaptation of the fundamental Karhidish institution of the Hearth, though lacking, of course, the topical and genealogical stability of the Hearth.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

Related Words

• absence
• dearth
• inadequacy
• loss
• paucity
• poverty
• reduction
• scarcity
• shortage
• shortcoming
• shortfall