shortfall C2+ Topic:Numbers & Quantity US /ˈʃɔrtˌfɔl/ UK /ˈʃɔːtfɔːl/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun a deficit; the amount by which something falls short of a requirement The charity faced a serious shortfall in donations this year. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a deficit; the amount by... deficitdeficiencyshortagelackinsufficiencygap ↔ Opposites surplusexcessglut Word family Related forms shortfallshortcoming Etymology AI details A native compound of short and fall, in the sense of 'falling short' of a requirement; short is from Old English sceort, and fall from Old English feallan. sceort Old English feallan Old English View etymology graph -> Topics Numbers & Quantity External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # shortfall **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈʃɔrtˌfɔl/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈʃɔːtfɔːl/ ## Meanings 1. a deficit; the amount by which something falls short of a requirement ## Examples - The charity faced a serious shortfall in donations this year. ## Synonyms - deficit - deficiency - shortage - lack - insufficiency - gap ## Antonyms - surplus - excess - glut ## Related Forms - short - fall - shortcoming ## Roots and Affixes - Root: sceort - Root: feallan ## Etymology A native compound of short and fall, in the sense of 'falling short' of a requirement; short is from Old English sceort, and fall from Old English feallan. ## AI Etymology Shortfall is a native compound of short and fall, in the sense of 'falling short' of a requirement; short is from Old English sceort, and fall from Old English feallan. The historical chain includes Old English sceort and Old English feallan. The quoted older sense, "falling short," supplies the immediate semantic anchor for shortfall. The formation is best read as compound: the word shortfall carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a noun, "a deficit; the amount by which something falls short of a requirement". Related English forms include short, fall, and shortcoming. The result is a noun whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization. ## Topics - Numbers & Quantity markdown