Lack — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable

be without

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/lˈæk/

🇬🇧British English

/lˈak/

🇮🇳Indian English

/lˈak/

1 syllable Say it as /lˈæk/.

Examples

there is a serious lack of insight into the problem
water is the critical deficiency in desert regions
for want of a nail the shoe was lost

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

miss want deficiency

Antonyms

have

Parts of Speech

noun	the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable “there is a serious lack of insight into the problem”
verb	be without “This soup lacks salt”

Word Forms

lack	verb	be without
deficient	adjective	falling short of some prescribed norm
want	verb	be without, lack; be deficient in
lack	noun	the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Mangel

der Zustand, etwas zu brauchen, das abwesend oder nicht verfügbar ist

🇫🇷French

manque

l'état de besoin de quelque chose qui est absent ou indisponible

🇪🇸Spanish

falta

el estado de necesitar algo que está ausente o no disponible

🇮🇹Italian

mancanza

lo stato di bisogno di qualcosa che è assente o non disponibile

🇳🇱Dutch

gebrek

de toestand waarin je iets nodig hebt dat afwezig of niet beschikbaar is

🇵🇹Portuguese

falta

o estado de precisar de algo que está ausente ou indisponível

🇷🇺Russian

недостаток

состояние потребности в чем-то, чего нет или недоступно

India

🇮🇳Hindi

कमी

किसी ऐसी चीज़ की आवश्यकता की अवस्था जो अनुपस्थित या अनुपलब्ध हो

🇧🇩Bengali

অভাব

অনুপস্থিত বা অনুপলব্ধ এমন কিছুর প্রয়োজনের অবস্থা

🇮🇳Tamil

பற்றாக்குறை

இல்லாத அல்லது கிடைக்காத ஒன்று தேவைப்படும் நிலை

🇮🇳Telugu

లేకపోవడం

లేని లేదా అందుబాటులో లేని ఏదైనా అవసరమయ్యే స్థితి

🇮🇳Marathi

अभाव

अनुपस्थित किंवा अनुपलब्ध असलेल्या एखाद्या गोष्टीची आवश्यकता असल्याची स्थिती

🇮🇳Gujarati

અભાવ

ગેરહાજર અથવા અનુપલબ્ધ એવી કોઈ વસ્તુની જરૂરિયાતની સ્થિતિ

🇮🇳Kannada

ಕೊರತೆ

ಇಲ್ಲದಿರುವ ಅಥವಾ ಅಲಭ್ಯವಾಗಿರುವ ಯಾವುದನ್ನಾದರೂ ಅಗತ್ಯವಿರುವ ಸ್ಥಿತಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

അഭാവം

ഇല്ലാത്തതോ ലഭ്യമല്ലാത്തതോ ആയ എന്തെങ്കിലും ആവശ്യമുള്ള അവസ്ഥ

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਕਮੀ

ਕਿਸੇ ਚੀਜ਼ ਦੀ ਜ਼ਰੂਰਤ ਦੀ ਸਥਿਤੀ ਜੋ ਗੈਰਹਾਜ਼ਰ ਜਾਂ ਉਪਲਬਧ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੈ

🇵🇰Urdu

کمی

کسی چیز کی ضرورت کی حالت جو غائب یا دستیاب نہیں ہے۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

缺少

需要某种不存在或不可用的东西的状态

🇯🇵Japanese

足らない

存在しない、または利用できないものを必要としている状態

🇰🇷Korean

부족

없거나 사용할 수 없는 것이 필요한 상태

🇻🇳Vietnamese

thiếu

trạng thái cần một cái gì đó vắng mặt hoặc không có sẵn

🇹🇭Thai

ขาด

สถานะของความต้องการบางสิ่งที่ขาดหายไปหรือไม่มีอยู่

🇮🇩Indonesian

kekurangan

keadaan membutuhkan sesuatu yang tidak ada atau tidak tersedia

🇵🇭Filipino

kulang

ang estado ng pangangailangan ng isang bagay na wala o hindi magagamit

🇲🇾Malay

kekurangan

keadaan memerlukan sesuatu yang tiada atau tidak tersedia

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

نقص

حالة الحاجة إلى شيء غائب أو غير متوفر

🇮🇷Persian

کمبود

حالت نیاز به چیزی که وجود ندارد یا در دسترس نیست

🇹🇷Turkish

eksiklik

bulunmayan veya bulunamayan bir şeye ihtiyaç duyma durumu

🇮🇱Hebrew

חוֹסֶר

המצב של צורך במשהו שנעדר או לא זמין

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'lack'?

The primary meaning of 'lack' is 'the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'lack' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'lack' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'lack' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'lack' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'lack' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'lack' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'lack' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'lack' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'lack' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'lack' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted