shortcoming

American  

[shawrt-kuhm-ing] / ˈʃɔrtˌkʌm ɪŋ /

noun

shortcomings plural

1. a failure, defect, or deficiency in conduct, condition, thought, ability, etc..

   a social shortcoming; a shortcoming of his philosophy.

   Synonyms:

   weakness, failing, flaw, fault

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shortcoming British  

/ ˈʃɔːtˌkʌmɪŋ /

noun

1. a failing, defect, or deficiency

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• shortcomings
  plural

Etymology

Origin of shortcoming

First recorded in 1670–80; short + coming

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shortcoming shortcomings

A reporting system that was originally designed to address intentional physical abuse now encourages people to report any perceived shortcoming in the care of children.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

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

But here his crucial intellectual shortcoming came to the fore: he was not a particularly gifted experimentalist.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

The new design also addressed other shortcomings of previous systems.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 7, 2026

Greer said that the U.S. would continue to engage with Mexico and Canada to address the USMCA’s shortcomings, chief among them narrowing the U.S. trade gap with its top trading partners.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

Aware of these shortcomings, Rodríguez expressed her gratitude to foreign governments which have offered their help.

From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026

But adding Alphabet won’t save the Dow from its other shortcomings, and the blue-chip index’s enduring popularity continues to confound me.

From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026

He had much to say about the shortcomings of the new owners of Bag End.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien

Related Words

• defect
• deficiency
• drawback
• failing
• fault
• flaw
• frailty
• imperfection
• lack
• lapse
• sin
• weakness