shortcoming
/ˈʃoɹtˌkʌmɪŋ/noun
shortcoming is spelled S-H-O-R-T-C-O-M-I-N-G: 11 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,775th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, shortcoming means “A deficiency or falling short; failure to attain a goal or ideal” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of shortcoming is shortcomings.
How many letters and syllables are in shortcoming?
| Letters | 11: S-H-O-R-T-C-O-M-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 48,775th 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 shortcoming?
Shortcoming appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,775th 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 shortcoming?
- UK /ˈʃɔːtˌkʌmɪŋ/
- US /ˈʃoɹtˌkʌmɪŋ/
- [ˈʃɑɹtˌkʌmɪŋ]
Shortcoming has 3 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-shortcoming.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of shortcoming
- shortcomings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does shortcoming mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A deficiency or falling short; failure to attain a goal or ideal.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Shortcoming in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense deficiency:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | défaut, lacune, carence, imperfection |
| German | Schwäche, Manko |
| Portuguese | deficiência, limitação |
| Spanish | defecto, deficiencia, carencia, falencia, insuficiencia, déficit |
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 shortcoming come from?
From short + coming.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).