What does "lack" mean?
A deficiency or need (of something desirable or necessary); an absence, want, dearth.
Lack
/læk/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A deficiency or need (of something desirable or necessary); an absence, want, dearth.
- Grammar: lack is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: deficiency, want, insufficiency, shortage.
- Useful contrasts: dutch bezitten, extra, featured.
- Usage evidence: You must make allowance for his lack of experience.
How to use "lack"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "lack" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "lack" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "lack" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "lack" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "lack" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "deficiency" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "lack", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A deficiency or need (of something desirable or necessary); an absence, want, dearth. countable, uncountable
"[…] let his lack of years be no impediment to let him lack a reverend estimation;"
- 2 Archaic form of lakh. alt-of, archaic
"a lack of rupees"
- 3 the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable wordnet
- 4 A defect or failing; moral or spiritual degeneracy. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"In the old days, to my commonplace and unobserving mind, he gave no evidences of genius whatsoever. He never read me any of his manuscripts, […], and therefore my lack of detection of his promise may in some degree be pardoned."
Verb
- 1 To be without, not to have, to need, to require. stative, transitive
"My life lacks excitement."
- 2 be without wordnet
- 3 To be short (of or for something). intransitive
"He'll never lack for company while he's got all that money."
- 4 To be insufficiently prepared wordnet
- 5 To be in want. intransitive, obsolete
"The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger […]"
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 To see the deficiency in (someone or something); to find fault with, to malign, reproach. obsolete
"That is Mede þe Mayde quod she · hath noyed me ful oft / And ylakked my lemman."
- 7 To be off one's guard.
"His opps caught him lacking."
Example
"You must make allowance for his lack of experience."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "lack"?
Common synonyms include: deficiency, want, insufficiency, shortage, shortcoming, absence.
How do you use "lack" in a sentence?
You must make allowance for his lack of experience.
How do you pronounce "lack"?
Pronounced /læk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English lack, lakke, lak, from Old English *læc (“deficiency, lack, want”), from Proto-West Germanic *lak, from Proto-Germanic *laką, *lakaz (“slackness”), from Proto-Germanic *lakaz (“limp, slack, loose, low”), related to *lak(k)ōną (“to blame, reproach”), from Proto-Indo-European *lok-néh₂-. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Lak (“lack”), Middle Low German lack, lak (“lack”), Dutch lak (“lack, deficiency, calumny”), Icelandic lakur (“lacking”). Related also to Middle Dutch laken (“to blame, lack”). Eclipsed non-native Middle English carence (“absence, lack”), from Old French carence.
Etymology 2
From Middle English lacken, lakken, laken, from Old English læccian, *lacian (“to blame, criticise, lack”), from Proto-West Germanic *lak(k)ōn (“to blame, be lacking”), from Proto-Germanic *lak(k)ōną (“to reproach, blame, be lacking”), from Proto-Indo-European *lok-néh₂-. Cognate with Old Frisian lakia, lekia (“to contest, blame”), Middle Low German lacken, laken (“to reproach, blame, criticise”), Middle Dutch laken (“to disapprove, blame, lack”), Dutch laken (“to blame, reproach”).