definitions

lacking

[ lak-ing ]
/ ˈlæk ɪŋ /
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lacking ON THESAURUS.COM

preposition

being without; not having; wanting; less: Lacking equipment, the laboratory couldn't undertake the research project.

adjective

wanting; deficient: He was found lacking in stamina.

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RELATED WORDS

inadequate, incomplete, flawed, short, needed, impaired, missing, needing, defective, minus, without, sans

Nearby words

lackaday, lackawanna, lacker, lackey, lackey moth, lacking, lackland air force base, lackluster, lacklustre, laclos, laconia

Origin of lacking

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at lack, -ing2

Definition for lacking (2 of 2)

Origin of lack

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

Synonym study

3. Lack, want, need, require as verbs all stress the absence of something desirable, important, or necessary. Lack means to be without or to have less than a desirable quantity of something: to lack courage, sufficient money, enough members to make a quorum. Want may imply some urgency in fulfilling a requirement or a desire: Willing workers are badly wanted. The room wants some final touch to make it homey. Need often suggests even more urgency than does want stressing the necessity of supplying what is lacking: to need an operation, better food, a match to light the fire. Require, which expresses necessity as strongly as need, occurs most frequently in serious or formal contexts: Your presence at the hearing is required. Successful experimentation requires careful attention to detail.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for lacking

British Dictionary definitions for lacking

lack

/ (læk) /

noun

an insufficiency, shortage, or absence of something required or desired
something that is required but is absent or in short supply

verb

(when intr, often foll by in or for) to be deficient (in) or have need (of)to lack purpose

Word Origin for lack

C12: related to Middle Dutch laken to be wanting
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012