noun
1.
deficiency or absence of something needed, desirable, or customary: lack of money; lack of skill.
2.
something missing or needed: After he left, they really felt the lack.
verb (used with object)
3.
to be without or deficient in: to lack ability; to lack the necessities of life.
4.
to fall short in respect of: He lacks three votes to win.
verb (used without object)
5.
to be absent or missing, as something needed or desirable: Three votes are lacking to make a majority.
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Lack
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is kibitz. Does it mean:
| chat, to converse |
| to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about. |
6.
lack in, to be short of or deficient in: What he lacks in brains, he makes up for in brawn.
Origin:
1125–75; Middle English lak; cognate with Middle Low German lak, Middle Dutch lac deficiency; akin to Old Norse lakr deficient
1125–75; Middle English lak; cognate with Middle Low German lak, Middle Dutch lac deficiency; akin to Old Norse lakr deficient
Synonyms
1. dearth, scarcity, paucity, deficit, insufficiency. 1, 3. want, need. 3. Lack, want, need, require as verbs all stress the absence of something desirable, important, or necessary. Lack means to be without or to have less than a desirable quantity of something: to lack courage, sufficient money, enough members to make a quorum. Want may imply some urgency in fulfilling a requirement or a desire: Willing workers are badly wanted. The room wants some final touch to make it homey. Need often suggests even more urgency than does want stressing the necessity of supplying what is lacking: to need an operation, better food, a match to light the fire. Require which expresses necessity as strongly as need occurs most frequently in serious or formal contexts: Your presence at the hearing is required. Successful experimentation requires careful attention to detail.
1. dearth, scarcity, paucity, deficit, insufficiency. 1, 3. want, need. 3. Lack, want, need, require as verbs all stress the absence of something desirable, important, or necessary. Lack means to be without or to have less than a desirable quantity of something: to lack courage, sufficient money, enough members to make a quorum. Want may imply some urgency in fulfilling a requirement or a desire: Willing workers are badly wanted. The room wants some final touch to make it homey. Need often suggests even more urgency than does want stressing the necessity of supplying what is lacking: to need an operation, better food, a match to light the fire. Require which expresses necessity as strongly as need occurs most frequently in serious or formal contexts: Your presence at the hearing is required. Successful experimentation requires careful attention to detail.
Antonyms
1. surplus.
1. surplus.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To lack
Collins
World English Dictionary
lack (læk) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | an insufficiency, shortage, or absence of something required or desired |
| 2. | something that is required but is absent or in short supply |
| —vb (when intr, | |
| 3. | to be deficient (in) or have need (of): to lack purpose |
| [C12: related to Middle Dutch laken to be wanting] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
lack
c.1200, may have existed as unrecorded O.E. *lac or else it was borrowed from M.Du. lak "deficiency, fault;" in either case from P.Gmc. *laka- (cf. O.N. lakr "lacking"). The verb is attested earlier, late 12c., but is considered to be from the noun. Related: Lacking.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia
lack
sticky, resinous secretion of the tiny lac insect, Laccifer lacca, which is a species of scale insect. This insect deposits lac on the twigs and young branches of several varieties of soapberry and acacia trees and particularly on the sacred fig, Ficus religiosa, in India, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. The lac is harvested predominantly for the production of shellac (q.v.) and lac dye, a red dye widely used in India and other Asian countries. Forms of lac, including shellac, are the only commercial resins of animal origin
Learn more about lack with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences
If the containers lack drain holes in the bottom, drill them or ask the seller to do that.
Many of those registered on his exchange lack the skills that employers require.
But a lack of stability probably influenced the architects to aim for a new angle halfway through construction.
They reflect our own lack of judgment, integrity, decency and objectivity.
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