lack

1 of 2

verb

lacked; lacking; lacks

intransitive verb

1
: to be deficient or missing
time is lacking for a full explanation
2
: to be short or have need of something
he will not lack for advisers
The area does not lack for good restaurants.

transitive verb

: to stand in need of : suffer from the absence or deficiency of
lack the necessities of life
She lacked confidence.

lack

2 of 2

noun

1
: the fact or state of being wanting or deficient
a lack of evidence
2
: something that is lacking or is needed

Examples of lack in a Sentence

Verb His book lacks any coherent structure. They lack a good strategy for winning the election. This painting lacks any artistic value. She has never been accused of lacking confidence. Many of these people lack the basic necessities of life. Noun The problem is a lack of money. She has been suffering from a lack of sleep lately. Her problem is lack of sleep.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Apple, one of the world’s most valuable companies, is sitting on a mountain of cash and lacks a social network of its own. Allison Morrow, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024 Pete White, executive director of the Skid Row advocacy group Los Angeles Community Action Network, said civilian boards don’t represent the public’s interests and lack transparency. Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2024 Most of the systems analyzed by the IIHS failed to properly determine whether or not a driver was looking at the road or lacked attention reminders to prevent drivers from being distracted. Popular Science, 13 Mar. 2024 The defensive line looks now like a build-around unit, something the Raiders have lacked in most years over the past two decades. Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Mar. 2024 Though it is rarely mentioned today, the liberal democracy in place before 2015 was also flawed: procedures that existed on paper were not correctly observed in practice, including proper implementation of the Constitutional Tribunal’s rulings, and stable democratic habits were lacking. Foreign Affairs, 12 Mar. 2024 The growers receive meager payments from the government for their crop and lack the incentive to invest in fertilizer and pesticides. David J. Lynch, Washington Post, 12 Mar. 2024 The Kurdish authorities, who lack the manpower to enforce security, manage the camp’s nine sectors through occasional raids. Anand Gopal, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 The transfer from North Carolina was the best player on the best team in a season that lacked superlative individual efforts by players on contending teams. Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2024
Noun
Young men are afraid they will be mobilized to die because of a lack of weapons. Dan Lamothe, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024 The lack of housing has caused a record number of renters to devote an excessive amount of income to housing, according to a Harvard University analysis. Josh Boak, Fortune, 15 Mar. 2024 Related article How to help civilians impacted by the Israel-Gaza conflict CNN cannot independently confirm the Gaza government’s numbers due to the lack of international media access to the strip. Kareem Khadder, CNN, 15 Mar. 2024 The allegations were originally brought in 2021, but the police dropped the case due to a lack of evidence. Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Mar. 2024 While Black voters are unlikely to support Trump in significant numbers in November, a lack of turnout could prove just as fatal for Biden's reelection campaign. Joey Cappelletti, Quartz, 14 Mar. 2024 In addition to Walker, there’s a veteran whose age raises questions about his fitness for office, a small-town mayor who outperforms his minimal name recognition and a celebrity whose media savvy and charm make up for his lack of experience. Alison Herman, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024 Along with some friends at university, Sonny Khan, 26, founded the Paani Project which tackles Pakistan’s lack of secure access to clean water. Simon Perry, Peoplemag, 14 Mar. 2024 The concern over the lack of adequate farmworker housing in Half Moon Bay was raised following a mass shooting last year that exposed workers living in squalid conditions. Ryan MacAsero, The Mercury News, 13 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lack.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English lak; akin to Middle Dutch lak lack, Old Norse lakr defective

First Known Use

Verb

12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of lack was in the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near lack

Cite this Entry

“Lack.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lack. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

lack

1 of 2 verb
1
: to be missing
2
: to need, want, or be short of
lacks money

lack

2 of 2 noun
1
: the fact or state of being absent or in short supply
2
: something that is lacking or is needed

More from Merriam-Webster on lack

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!