Meanings
plural shortfalls · alternative short-fall
- An instance of falling short, of not meeting a quota, an obligation, or more generally any expected target.
Due to a shortfall in revenue, we will have to make some cuts.
1 more example
“Let’s enjoy it while it lasts” was a familiar reaction on social media when The New York Times announced last week that it would temporarily disable its paywall to mark World Press Freedom Day. The excitement of many users points toward a key development in online news of recent years: the rise of paywalls across online news sites, as publishers around the world try to find new, sustainable business models in order to make up for the revenue shortfall caused by a rapidly changing business environment.
2019 May 8, Felix Simon, Lucas Graves, “Across seven countries, the average price for paywalled news is about $15.75/month”, in NiemanLab, archived from the original on 17 Aug 2019 - The amount by which such a quota, obligation, etc., was missed.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe property of being an amount by which something is less than expected or required
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Deverbal from fall short. By surface analysis, short + fall.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian дефици́т
- дефици́т (deficít)instance of not meeting a quota or of having an insufficient amount
Chinese Mandarin 未達標 /未达标, 短缺
- 未達標 /未达标 (wèi dábiāo)instance of not meeting a quota or of having an insufficient amount
- 短缺 (duǎnquē)instance of not meeting a quota or of having an insufficient amount
- 缺口 (quēkǒu)amount missed
- 差額 /差额 (chā'é)amount missed
Finnish vajaus, puuttuminen
- vajausinstance of not meeting a quota or of having an insufficient amount
- puuttumineninstance of not meeting a quota or of having an insufficient amount
- vajeamount missed
- vajausamount missed
- alijäämäamount missed
French insuffisance, manquement
- insuffisanceinstance of not meeting a quota or of having an insufficient amount
- manquementinstance of not meeting a quota or of having an insufficient amount
- défaut de paiementinstance of not meeting a quota or of having an insufficient amount
Hungarian kiesés, kiesés
- kiesésinstance of not meeting a quota or of having an insufficient amount
- kiesésamount missed
Māori kōpakatanga, pūhoretanga
- kōpakatangainstance of not meeting a quota or of having an insufficient amount
- pūhoretangainstance of not meeting a quota or of having an insufficient amount
Persian کمبود
- کمبود (kambud)instance of not meeting a quota or of having an insufficient amount
Polish zadyszka, krótka kołdra
- zadyszkainstance of not meeting a quota or of having an insufficient amount
- krótka kołdrainstance of not meeting a quota or of having an insufficient amount
- brakamount missed
- niedobóramount missed
- niedostatekamount missed
Portuguese insuficiência
- insuficiênciainstance of not meeting a quota or of having an insufficient amount
Russian дефици́т
- дефици́т (deficít)instance of not meeting a quota or of having an insufficient amount
Spanish déficit, insuficiencia
- déficitinstance of not meeting a quota or of having an insufficient amount
- insuficienciainstance of not meeting a quota or of having an insufficient amount
- deficienciainstance of not meeting a quota or of having an insufficient amount
Cite this entry
shortfall. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shortfall
“shortfall.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shortfall. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shortfall,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shortfall.
Source: shortfall on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.