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scarcity
[ skair-si-tee ]
/ ˈskɛər sɪ ti /
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noun, plural scar·ci·ties.
insufficiency or shortness of supply; dearth.
rarity; infrequency.
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Origin of scarcity
OTHER WORDS FROM scarcity
non·scar·ci·ty, noun, plural non·scar·ci·ties.Words nearby scarcity
scarce, scarce as hen's teeth, scarcely, scarcely ever, scarcement, scarcity, scare, scarecrow, scared, scaredy-cat, scarehead
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.