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shortage

 
(shôr'tĭj) pronunciation
n.
A deficiency in amount; an insufficiency.


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n

Definition: deficiency
Antonyms: abundance, ample, enough, sufficiency

A condition that exists when demand exceeds supply because of a lack of equilibrium in a market. If a price is artificially low, buyers want to buy more of a good than sellers are willing to sell. (Compare surplus.)

A situation where demand for a product or service exceeds the available supply. Possible causes of a shortage include miscalculation of demand by a company producing a good or service (i.e., the company can’t produce enough to keep up with demand) or government policies (i.e., price fixing/rationing). Natural disasters that devastate the physical landscape of a region can also cause shortages of such essential products as food and housing, also leading to higher prices of those goods.

Investopedia Says:

A government-imposed price ceiling can create a shortage. When the government does not allow the free market to dictate the price of an item based on its supply/demand, an artificially high number of people may decide to purchase that item because the price is artificially low. For example, if the government provides free doctor visits as part of a national health care plan, consumers may experience a shortage of doctor services because when people no longer have to pay directly for them, they will be likely to increase their demand for those services.

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Word Tutor:

shortage

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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: n. - An acute insufficiency.

pronunciation Part of the problem today is that we have a surplus of simple answers and a shortage of simple problems. — unknown, Source: Syracuse Herald

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Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'shortage'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to shortage, see:

  See crossword solutions for the clue Shortage.
Translations:

Shortage

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - mangel, knaphed, underskud

Nederlands (Dutch)
tekort

Français (French)
n. - pénurie, manque

Deutsch (German)
n. - Mangel

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ανεπάρκεια, έλλειψη, έλλειμμα

Italiano (Italian)
mancanza

Português (Portuguese)
n. - escassez (f)

Русский (Russian)
нехватка

Español (Spanish)
n. - déficit, escasez, falta, insuficiencia

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - brist, knapphet, underskott

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
不足, 缺乏

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 不足, 缺乏

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 부족 , 부족액, 결핍

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 不足, 不足高

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) عجز, نقص‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מחסור, חוסר, גירעון‬


 
 
Related topics:
superfluity
drought
Neal, Leonard (Quotes By)

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Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: Economics. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.  Read more
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