Standard Lemma guide

shortcoming

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • shôrt
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈʃɔːtˌkʌmɪŋ/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Canada, General-American: /ˈʃoɹtˌkʌmɪŋ/
  • [ˈʃɑɹtˌkʌmɪŋ] St. Louis
  • Australian: /ˈʃoːtˌkɐmɪŋ/
  • New-Zealand: /ˈʃoːtˌkɐməŋ/
  • CMU ARPABET: SH AO1 R T K AH2 M IH0 NG Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A deficiency or falling short; failure to attain a goal or ideal.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: plural, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a failing or deficiency

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • that interpretation is an unfortunate defect of our lack of information

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: defect

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: disadvantage

History

Etymology

From short + coming.

Across languages

Translations

52 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Belarusian: недахо́п (njedaxóp) — deficiency
  • Bulgarian: дефицит (deficit) — deficiency
  • Bulgarian: недостиг (nedostig) — deficiency
  • Catalan: defecte — deficiency
  • Catalan: mancança — deficiency
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不足之處 /不足之处 (bùzúzhīchù) — deficiency
  • Czech: nedostatek — deficiency
  • Finnish: puute — deficiency
  • Finnish: vajavuus — deficiency
  • Finnish: vika — deficiency
  • French: défaut — deficiency
  • French: lacune — deficiency
  • French: carence — deficiency
  • French: imperfection — deficiency
  • German: Schwäche — deficiency
  • German: Manko — deficiency
  • Hebrew: מגרעה — deficiency
  • Italian: mancanza — deficiency
  • Italian: carenza — deficiency
  • Italian: lacuna — deficiency
  • Italian: imperfezione — deficiency
  • Italian: debolezze — deficiency
  • Japanese: 欠点 (ketten) — deficiency
  • Japanese: 短所 (tansho) — deficiency
  • Korean: 결점 (gyeoljeom) — deficiency
  • Korean: 부족점 (bujokjeom) — deficiency
  • Norwegian Bokmål: tilkortkommenhet — deficiency
  • Norwegian Bokmål: svakhet — deficiency
  • Norwegian Bokmål: brist — deficiency
  • Norwegian Bokmål: utilstrekkelighet — deficiency
  • Polish: niedociągnięcie — deficiency
  • Polish: uchybienie — deficiency
  • Polish: defekt — deficiency
  • Polish: mankament — deficiency
  • Portuguese: deficiência — deficiency
  • Portuguese: limitação — deficiency
  • Russian: недоста́ток (nedostátok) — deficiency
  • Russian: дефе́кт (defékt) — deficiency
  • Spanish: defecto — deficiency
  • Spanish: deficiencia — deficiency
  • Spanish: carencia — deficiency
  • Spanish: falencia — deficiency
  • Spanish: insuficiencia — deficiency
  • Spanish: déficit — deficiency
  • Swahili: dosari — deficiency
  • Swedish: tillkortakommande — deficiency
  • Swedish: brist — deficiency
  • Swedish: svaghet — deficiency
  • Turkish: eksik — deficiency
  • Ukrainian: недо́лік (nedólik) — deficiency
  • Urdu: کوتاہی (kotāhī) — deficiency
  • Uzbek: nuqson — deficiency