shortfall
Americannoun
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shortfalls
plural
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the quantity or extent by which something falls short; deficiency; shortage.
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the act or fact of falling short.
noun
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failure to meet a goal or a requirement
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the amount of such a failure; deficiency
a shortfall of £30m
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of shortfall
Explanation
If there's not enough of something, there's a shortfall. You expected to have plenty of Halloween candy, but a shortfall of Skittles has you running to the store to buy more. When an available quantity doesn't meet your needs, or there's a deficiency of something you want, you've got a shortfall. You might dump out your piggybank and discover a shortfall of cash, or start making a soufflé but find an egg shortfall when you open the fridge. This word comes from the idea of a supply that falls short of expectations.
Vocabulary lists containing shortfall
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.
See Examples For:
“This has immediate implications for the Gulf, of course, but is increasingly understood as a major shortfall in European defense and has potentially major consequences in Asia, too.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The Pentagon announced a $22.9 billion contract with Raytheon on Monday for Tomahawk missiles amid reports of a shortfall due to the war with Iran.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
Right now, there’s little appetite for many of the plans that policymakers and others have proposed to fix the shortfall.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
After that, the city’s general fund, which pays for basic services, would cover any remaining shortfall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
This all started with me noticing a 60-liter shortfall in water production.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
The court also ordered that remaining shortfalls from illegal gains be returned.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
"This identified shortfalls in fire measures which were reported to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Consort and other stakeholders," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
On top of monthly dues, some communities might also require homeowners to pay special assessments to cover sudden repairs for the building or funding shortfalls.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
Max Arias, executive director of Local 99 of Service Employees International Union, focused on past projected shortfalls that did not result in catastrophe.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
It said that Governor Thomas Corbett had proposed that the state’s institutions of higher learning should consider closing their budget shortfalls by drilling for natural gas on their campuses.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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.
