shortcoming
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of shortcoming
Explanation
The flaw in something is its shortcoming — your car's only shortcoming might be its lack of a sunroof, for example. Use the noun shortcoming when you talk about the way something — or someone — comes up short. Your boss's shortcoming could be her high expectations, and your job's shortcomings might be having to deal with your boss and not earning much money. The root of shortcoming is the phrase "to come short," which was used starting in the 1600's to mean "to be inadequate."
Vocabulary lists containing shortcoming
This Week In Words: October 19–25, 2019
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The War That Saved My Life
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The Wrong Way Home
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One shortcoming, by the way, of this menu is it works best for established firms that know what they’ve built.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
But spokesman Pitambar Ghimire admitted that "our only shortcoming is proper implementation".
From Barron's • Feb. 16, 2026
These voices insist that it isn’t “real cooking” unless everything is homemade, that shortcuts signify failure, and that feeding yourself—or others—this way reflects some deeper shortcoming.
From Salon • Jan. 5, 2026
His only physical shortcoming was getting his wind back after being sidelined for two weeks.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2025
The big-bang theory was born Yet scientists were aware that the big-bang theory suffered from a significant shortcoming.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
