What does shortage mean?
Word: Shortage
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Shortage means a situation in which there is not enough of something that people need, such as water, food or workers.
Synonyms: lack, scarcity, deficit
Antonyms: surplus, plenty, excess
How do you spell shortage?
Syllables: short - age
Tricky part: The last syllable is weak and said like ij, so students write shortege, shortidge or shortige.
Watch out for: shortege, shortidge, shortige
Memory tip: When you write it, say it in your head as short-AGE, with a loud a, then go back to the quick ij when you speak.
Shortage in a sentence
Example 1: The town faced a shortage of buses during the festival rush.
Example 2: The hospital is facing a shortage of nurses.
Example 3: There was a shortage of milk in our colony after the tanker broke down.
Fun Fact
Shortage is a fairly young word: it was first recorded in American English in the 1860s, centuries after short itself.
Practise the CREST Way
Jumble Tumble
Choose the correct sequence of the jumbled letters to form a meaningful word:
rgateosh 12345678
a) 87614325
b) 78641325
c) 78614352
d) 78614325
Show answer
d) 78614325. Letters 7 and 8 open the word, and letter 5 closes it: the noun for not having enough.
Spell Spies
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) shortage
b) lugage
c) bandage
d) cottage
Show answer
b) lugage. Luggage has a double g in the middle.
Word Tally
How many words are misspelt in the given sentence?
During the water shortage last May, our nieghbours shared their well with the whole lane.
a) 1
b) 3
c) 0
d) 2
Show answer
a) 1. Neighbours keeps e before i, as in eight; the rest of the sentence is correct.
Word Champ
Choose the correct word for the blank:
Because of a ___ of rain this year, the farmers had to grow millets instead of rice.
a) voltage
b) package
c) storage
d) shortage
Show answer
d) shortage. Storage is keeping things, a package is a parcel and voltage measures electricity; only shortage means not enough.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. During a shortage of onions, the price of onions usually ___.
a) goes up
b) stays the same
c) goes down
d) falls to zero
Show answer
a) goes up
2. Which situation shows a shortage?
a) only ten books for forty pupils
b) more chairs than guests
c) extra pencils in a box
d) a full tank of water
Show answer
a) only ten books for forty pupils
