shortage
/ˈʃɔː(ɹ)tɪd͡ʒ/noun
shortage is spelled S-H-O-R-T-A-G-E: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 8.1 times per million words in written English, the 8,146th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, shortage means “A lack or deficiency; an insufficient amount” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of shortage is shortages.
How many letters and syllables are in shortage?
| Letters | 8: S-H-O-R-T-A-G-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 8.1 times per million words; the 8,146th 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 shortage?
Shortage appears 8.1 times per million words in written English, the 8,146th 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 shortage?
- /ˈʃɔː(ɹ)tɪd͡ʒ/
Shortage 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-shortage.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of shortage
- shortages plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does shortage mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A lack or deficiency; an insufficient amount.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate shortage?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of shortage: shtg..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Shortage in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense lack or deficiency:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | défaut, rareté, pénurie, déficit, insuffisance |
| German | Mangel, Knappheit |
| Portuguese | falta, carência, insuficiência |
| Spanish | falta, carestía, escasez, penuria, exigüidad, carencia |
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.
Where does shortage come from?
From short + -age.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).