Vocabulary     

What does lack mean?

Definitions for lack
læklack

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word lack.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. lack, deficiency, wantverb

    the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable

    "there is a serious lack of insight into the problem"; "water is the critical deficiency in desert regions"; "for want of a nail the shoe was lost"

  2. miss, lackverb

    be without

    "This soup lacks salt"; "There is something missing in my jewelry box!"

Wiktionary

  1. lacknoun

    A defect or failing; moral or spiritual degeneracy.

  2. lacknoun

    A deficiency or need (of something desirable or necessary); an absence, want.

  3. lackverb

    To be without, to need, to require.

    My life lacks excitement.

  4. lackverb

    To be short (of or for something).

    He'll never lack for company while he's got all that money.

  5. Etymology: Apparently cognate with Middle Low German lak, Middle Dutch lac (> modern lak).

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Lacknoun

    Etymology: from the verb.

    In the scripture there neither wanteth any thing, the lack whereof might deprive us of life. Richard Hooker, b. i. p. 41.

    Many that are not mad
    Have sure more lack of reason. William Shakespeare, Meas. for Meas.

    He was not able to keep that place three days, for lack of victuals. Richard Knolles, History of the Turks.

    The trenchant blade, toledo trusty,
    For want of fighting was grown rusty,
    And eat into itself, for lack
    Of somebody to hew and hack. Hudibras, p. i. c. 1.

  2. To LACKverb

    To want; to need; to be without.

    Etymology: laecken, to lessen, Dutch.

    Every good and holy desire, though it lack the form, hath notwithstanding in itself the substance, and with him the force of prayer, who regardeth the very moanings, groans, and sighs of the heart. Richard Hooker, b. v. l. 348.

    A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness; thou shalt not lack any thing in it. Deut. viii. 9.

    One day we hope thou shalt bring back,
    Dear Bolingbroke, the justice that we lack. Daniel.

    Intreat they may; authority they lack. Daniel.

  3. To Lackverb

    The lions do lack and suffer hunger. Common Prayer.

    Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous; wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? Gen. viii. 28.

    There was nothing lacking to them: David recovered all. 1 Sam. xxx. 19.

    That which was lacking on your part, they have supplied. 1 Cor. xvi. 17.

ChatGPT

  1. lack

    Lack refers to the state of being without or not having enough of something; a deficiency or absence of a desirable or necessary attribute or quality. It can pertain to physical possessions, skills, qualities, aspects or elements that are missing or insufficient.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Lacknoun

    blame; cause of blame; fault; crime; offense

  2. Lacknoun

    deficiency; want; need; destitution; failure; as, a lack of sufficient food

  3. Lackverb

    to blame; to find fault with

  4. Lackverb

    to be without or destitute of; to want; to need

  5. Lackverb

    to be wanting; often, impersonally, with of, meaning, to be less than, short, not quite, etc

  6. Lackverb

    to be in want

  7. Lack

    exclamation of regret or surprise

  8. Etymology: [OE. lak; cf. D. lak slander, laken to blame, OHG. lahan, AS. len.]

Wikidata

  1. Lack

    Lack is a small village and townland in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 114 people.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Lack

    lak, v.t. and v.i. to want: to be in want: to be destitute of: to miss.—n. want: destitution.—ns. Lack′-all, one who is destitute; Lack′-brain (Shak.), a fool.—adjs. Lack′-lin′en (Shak.), wanting linen; Lack′-lus′tre, wanting brightness.—n. a want of brightness. [From an old Low Ger. root found in Dut. lak, blemish; cf. Ice. lakr, defective.]

Editors Contribution

  1. lackadverb

    I have a bottle of Lack from 175 years ago from Hungary or Finland!! You don't have that one.


    Submitted by stuartschiell56 on June 27, 2021  

Suggested Resources

  1. LACK

    What does LACK stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the LACK acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. LACK

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Lack is ranked #11778 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Lack surname appeared 2,661 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 would have the surname Lack.

    91% or 2,422 total occurrences were White.
    4.1% or 110 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    1.6% or 44 total occurrences were of two or more races.
    1.4% or 39 total occurrences were Black.
    1% or 27 total occurrences were Asian.
    0.7% or 19 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'lack' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1100

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'lack' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2319

  3. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'lack' in Nouns Frequency: #512

  4. Verbs Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'lack' in Verbs Frequency: #434

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

Anagrams for lack »

  1. calk

How to pronounce lack?

How to say lack in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of lack in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of lack in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of lack in a Sentence

  1. Bryan Singer:

    The last time I posted about this subject, Esquire magazine was preparing to publish an article written by a homophobic journalist who has a bizarre obsession with me dating back to 1997, after careful fact-checking and, in consideration of the lack of credible sources, Esquire chose not to publish this piece of vendetta journalism. That didn't stop this writer from selling it to The Atlantic. It's sad that The Atlantic would stoop to this low standard of journalistic integrity.

  2. Widney Brown:

    The bombings, the lack of humanitarian aid and the failure of the United Nations to deliver any kind of assistance means the death toll may soon be catastrophic.

  3. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi:

    We were paying salaries while we lack the money, we have started blowing some big fish out of the water and we'll go after them until the end.

  4. Greg Carbin:

    We are in uncharted territory with respect to the lack of severe weather.

  5. Chuck Grassley:

    As I've said before, Congress requires written reasons justifying an IG's removal. A general lack of confidence simply is not sufficient detail to satisfy Congress, the President has not provided the kind of justification for the removal of IG Linick required by this law.

more sentences »

Popularity rank by frequency of use

lack#1#2498#10000

References

Translations for lack

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

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"lack." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 23 Jan. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/lack>.

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