scarcity - Definitions from Dictionary.com

6 results for: scarcity

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

scar·ci·ty

Audio Help [skair-si-tee] Pronunciation Key

–noun, plural -ties.

1.	insufficiency or shortness of supply; dearth.

2.	rarity; infrequency.

[Origin: 1300–50; ME scarsete(e) < ONF escarsete. See scarce, -ity

]

—Synonyms 1. shortage, want, lack, paucity.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
scarcity

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

scar·ci·ty Audio Help (skâr'sĭ-tē) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. scar·ci·ties

Insufficiency of amount or supply; shortage: a scarcity of food that was caused by drought.
Rarity of appearance or occurrence: antiques that are valued for their scarcity.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

scarcity
noun
a small and inadequate amount [ant: abundance]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ˈscarcity noun

(a) lack or shortage
Example: a scarcity of work/jobs; times of scarcity

Arabic:	نُدْرَه
Chinese (Simplified):	缺乏
Chinese (Traditional):	缺乏
Czech:	nedostatek
Danish:	knaphed
Dutch:	schaarste
Estonian:	nappus, puudus
Finnish:	niukkuus
French:	rareté
German:	die Knappheit
Greek:	έλλειψη
Hungarian:	hiány
Icelandic:	skortur
Indonesian:	kekurangan
Italian:	scarsità, penuria

Japanese:	不足
Korean:	부족, 결핍
Latvian:	retums; nepietiekamība; trūkums
Lithuanian:	stygius
Norwegian:	mangel (på), knapphet; dyrtid
Polish:	brak, niedobór
Portuguese (Brazil):	falta, carência
Portuguese (Portugal):	escassez
Romanian:	raritate
Russian:	недостаток, дефицит
Slovak:	nedostatok
Slovenian:	pomanjkanje
Spanish:	escasez
Swedish:	brist, knapphet, sällsynthet
Turkish:	kıtlık

See also: scarcely, make oneself scarce, scarce

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
scarcity

The basic problem on which classical economic theory is built: simply, that human wants will always exceed the resources available to fulfill those wants. This tenet was challenged by the rise of what John Kenneth Galbraith described as the affluent society.

[Chapter:] Business and Economics

Investopedia - Cite This Source - Share This

Scarcity

The basic economic problem which arises from people having unlimited wants while there are and always will be limited resources. Because of scarcity, various economic decisions must be made to allocate resources efficiently.

Investopedia Commentary

When we talk of scarcity within an economic context, it refers to limited resources, not a lack of riches. These resources are the inputs of production: land, labor, and capital.

People must make choices between different items because the resources necessary to fulfill their wants are limited. These decisions are made by giving up (trading-off) one want to satisfy another.

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