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scarcity

SKEHR-sih-tee /ˈskersəti/

nounC1GRESATGMATIELTS

academiceconomicformal

The state of being scarce or in short supply; shortage.

In economics, scarcity is the fundamental problem of having seemingly unlimited human wants in a world of limited resources.

The story behind the word. From the Old Northern French 'escars,' meaning 'stinted' or 'frugal.' It originally described a person who was stingy with money before it described a lack of resources.

Word relationships

dearth: Dearth implies a lack of something that makes it expensive or precious; scarcity is the general state of being in short supply.
paucity: Paucity refers to a smallness of number or quantity; scarcity refers to the insufficiency of the supply.

abundance: A very large quantity of something.
surplus: An amount left over when requirements have been met.

Commonly confused with

shortage: Shortage is often a market condition where demand exceeds supply at a certain price; scarcity is a more permanent, fundamental condition.

Word family

scarce (adjective): Insufficient for the demand.

Collocations

resource scarcity
food scarcity
acute scarcity

Example sentences

"Water scarcity is becoming a major source of conflict in arid regions." Global issues.
"The first lesson of economics is scarcity: there is never enough of anything to satisfy all those who want it." Foundational economics. (Thomas Sowell)

Memory hook

It sounds like 'scare.' A 'scarcity' of food is a 'scary' situation. Scarcity: Scarily low supply.

When not to use

Don't use it for a temporary 'out of stock' item at a store; use it for a broad, serious lack of resources like water or food in a region.

Fun facts

The 'Scarcity Principle' in psychology suggests that people place a higher value on an object that is scarce and a lower value on one that is abundant.