Dictionary.com

scarcity

[ skair-si-tee ]
/ ˈskɛər sɪ ti /
Save This Word!

noun, plural scar·ci·ties.
insufficiency or shortness of supply; dearth.
rarity; infrequency.

COMPARE MEANINGS

Click for a side-by-side comparison of meanings. Use the word comparison feature to learn the differences between similar and commonly confused words.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?

Origin of scarcity

1300–50; Middle English scarsete(e) <Old North French escarsete.See scarce, -ity

OTHER WORDS FROM scarcity

non·scar·ci·ty, noun, plural non·scar·ci·ties.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use scarcity in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for scarcity

scarcity
/ (ˈskɛəsɪtɪ) /

noun plural -ties
inadequate supply; dearth; paucity
rarity or infrequent occurrence
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

Cultural definitions for scarcity

scarcity

The basic problem on which classical economic theory is built: simply, that human wants will always exceed the resources available to fulfill those wants. This tenet was challenged by the rise of what John Kenneth Galbraith described as the affluent society.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
FEEDBACK