shortfall
Americannoun
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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.
Appeared in the April 7, 2026, print edition as 'The Farm Labor Shortfall Bites'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026
There are now 74 bankruptcy cases in the Horizon Shortfall Compensation Scheme.
From BBC • Feb. 16, 2024
"Offers totalling more than £120m have been made through the Horizon Shortfall Scheme, the majority of which have been agreed and paid," he said.
From BBC • Feb. 14, 2024
The first-stage booster for the flight is making its 12 launch and SpaceX is aiming for a recovery landing on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 28, 2023
And the booster made its fifth landing as well, coming down for a pinpoint touchdown 9.5 minutes after liftoff on theSpaceXdroneship A Shortfall of Gravitas, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
From Scientific American • Apr. 8, 2022
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.
