lacking
/ˈlækɪŋ/noun, adjective, verb
lacking is spelled L-A-C-K-I-N-G: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 12 times per million words in written English, the 6,230th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, lacking means “The absence of something that is desirable or otherwise ought to be present” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of lacking is lackings.
How many letters and syllables are in lacking?
| Letters | 7: L-A-C-K-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 12 times per million words; the 6,230th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is lacking?
Lacking appears 12 times per million words in written English, the 6,230th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lacking?
- /ˈlækɪŋ/
Lacking has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-lacking.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of lacking
- lackings plural
- more lacking comparative
- most lacking superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lacking mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The absence of something that is desirable or otherwise ought to be present.
adjective
- 1
Missing or not having enough of (a good quality, etc).
This cheese is lacking in pungency.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of lack
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lacking in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense missing or not having enough of something:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | dépourvu |
| German | but see -los (-less), mangeln, mangelhaft |
| Portuguese | desprovido |
| Spanish | falto/carente/carenciado [with de] |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.