shortage noun
ADJ. acute, desperate, dire, serious, severe the current acute shortage of teachers | growing, increasing | chronic | general | national, world the world shortage of coffee | current | wartime | cash, energy, food, fuel, housing, labour, manpower, skill/skills, staff, water
VERB + SHORTAGE cause, create, lead to, result in | be affected by, be hampered by, face, have, suffer (from) Industry is facing a serious labour shortage. | alleviate, deal with, ease, meet, overcome, solve, tackle The recent heavy rains have helped to ease the water shortage. | exacerbate The energy shortages were exacerbated by the severe winter.
SHORTAGE + VERB occur | cause sth, lead to sth A shortage of resources has led to a cutback.
PREP. because of/due to a/the ~ Lives are being put at risk because of staff shortages. | ~ in Their economy continued to suffer shortages in raw materials. | ~ of a desperate shortage of food
You can also check other dicts: shortage (English, 中文解释 ), wordnet sense, Collins Definition