Meaning of "lack" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD LACK

Related to Middle Dutch laken to be wanting.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF LACK

lack  [læk]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF LACK

Lack is a verb and can also act as a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb lack in English.

WHAT DOES LACK MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Lack

To lack something is to not have it. Lack may also refer to: ▪ Lack ▪ Lack Township, Juniata County, Pennsylvania ▪ Lack, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland ▪ Lack, Poland ▪ Łąck, Poland ▪ Lack, a term in Lacan's psychoanalytic philosophy...

Definition of lack in the English dictionary

The first definition of lack in the dictionary is an insufficiency, shortage, or absence of something required or desired. Other definition of lack is something that is required but is absent or in short supply. Lack is also when intr, often foll by in or for to be deficient or have need.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO LACK

PRESENT

Present

I lack

you lack

he/she/it lacks

we lack

you lack

they lack

Present continuous

I am lacking

you are lacking

he/she/it is lacking

we are lacking

you are lacking

they are lacking

Present perfect

I have lacked

you have lacked

he/she/it has lacked

we have lacked

you have lacked

they have lacked

Present perfect continuous

I have been lacking

you have been lacking

he/she/it has been lacking

we have been lacking

you have been lacking

they have been lacking

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I lacked

you lacked

he/she/it lacked

we lacked

you lacked

they lacked

Past continuous

I was lacking

you were lacking

he/she/it was lacking

we were lacking

you were lacking

they were lacking

Past perfect

I had lacked

you had lacked

he/she/it had lacked

we had lacked

you had lacked

they had lacked

Past perfect continuous

I had been lacking

you had been lacking

he/she/it had been lacking

we had been lacking

you had been lacking

they had been lacking

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will lack

you will lack

he/she/it will lack

we will lack

you will lack

they will lack

Future continuous

I will be lacking

you will be lacking

he/she/it will be lacking

we will be lacking

you will be lacking

they will be lacking

Future perfect

I will have lacked

you will have lacked

he/she/it will have lacked

we will have lacked

you will have lacked

they will have lacked

Future perfect continuous

I will have been lacking

you will have been lacking

he/she/it will have been lacking

we will have been lacking

you will have been lacking

they will have been lacking

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would lack

you would lack

he/she/it would lack

we would lack

you would lack

they would lack

Conditional continuous

I would be lacking

you would be lacking

he/she/it would be lacking

we would be lacking

you would be lacking

they would be lacking

Conditional perfect

I would have lack

you would have lack

he/she/it would have lack

we would have lack

you would have lack

they would have lack

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been lacking

you would have been lacking

he/she/it would have been lacking

we would have been lacking

you would have been lacking

they would have been lacking

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you lack
we let´s lack
you lack

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to lack

Past participle

lacked

Present Participle

lacking

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «LACK»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «lack» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of lack

absence · dearth · debt · deficiency · deprivation · destitution · inadequacy · insufficiency · miss · need · privation · require · scantiness · scarcity · shortage · shortcoming · shortness · want

TRANSLATION OF LACK

Find out the translation of lack to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of lack from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «lack» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 缺乏
• Translator English - Spanish: carencia
• English: lack
• Translator English - Hindi: कमी
• Translator English - Arabic: نَقْصٌ
• Translator English - Russian: нехватка
• Translator English - Portuguese: falta
• Translator English - Bengali: অভাব
• Translator English - French: manque
• Translator English - Malay: Kekurangan
• Translator English - German: Mangel
• Translator English - Japanese: 欠乏
• Translator English - Korean: 부족
• Translator English - Javanese: Kekurangan
• Translator English - Vietnamese: sự thiếu
• Translator English - Tamil: பற்றாக்குறை
• Translator English - Marathi: कमतरता
• Translator English - Turkish: eksiklik
• Translator English - Italian: mancanza
• Translator English - Polish: brak
• Translator English - Ukrainian: нестача
• Translator English - Romanian: lipsă
• Translator English - Greek: έλλειψη
• Translator English - Afrikaans: gebrek
• Translator English - Swedish: brist
• Translator English - Norwegian: mangel

10 QUOTES WITH «LACK»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word lack.

1

David Antin

I was trying to find out what it was that everybody else understood without giving up my stubborn and hard-won lack of understanding.

2

Jose Maria Aznar

Every day, every week without taking decisions is a problem for us, is a very wrong message for the markets and increases the lack of credibility of our economies.

3

Christian Bale

My hope is that people will be repulsed by the character's complete lack of ethics and obsession with consumerism - that's what I was saying about the difference between the character's message and the film's message.

4

J. G. Ballard

The chief role of the universities is to prolong adolescence into middle age, at which point early retirement ensures that we lack the means or the will to enforce significant change.

5

Kathy Bates

The roles I was lucky enough to get were real stretches for me: usually a character who was older, or a little weird, or whatever. And it was hard, not just for the lack of work but because you have to face up to how people are looking at you.

6

Willow Bay

I know it's very 'old media' of me to admit this, but I am often unnerved by the lack of civility on the Web.

7

Peter Benchley

If you take away the predators in the prairies and the national parks, you suddenly have an explosion of elk, and then you have a lack of the food source for the elk, so they strip all the ground bare and that takes away the cover, on and on and on and on. The whole food chain is disrupted.

8

Harsha Bhogle

Conflict of interest and lack of transparency, though they are global features as we saw post-Iraq, almost define Indian cricket.

9

Edward McKendree Bounds

We may excuse the spiritual poverty of our preaching in many ways, but the true secret will be found in the lack of urgent prayer for God's presence in the power of the Holy Spirit.

10

Anthony Bourdain

Bad food is made without pride, by cooks who have no pride, and no love. Bad food is made by chefs who are indifferent, or who are trying to be everything to everybody, who are trying to please everyone... Bad food is fake food... food that shows fear and lack of confidence in people's ability to discern or to make decisions about their lives.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «LACK»

Discover the use of lack in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to lack and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

Lack of Character: Personality and Moral Behavior

This book is a provocative contribution to contemporary ethics and moral psychology, challenging fundamental assumptions about character dating to Aristotle.

John Michael Doris, 2002

The Hedge Fund Mirage: The Illusion of Big Money and Why ...

This book will give investors the tools to evaluate whether their own fund is up to the mark." —Roger Lowenstein, author, When Genius Failed "The Hedge Fund Mirage is required reading for hedge fund investors.

Simon A. Lack, 2011

Radical Democracy: Politics Between Abundance and Lack

William Connolly and Ernesto Laclau conclude the volume with two afterwords on the future of radical democracy.

Lars Tønder, Lasse Thomassen, 2005

Darwin's Finches

The 1947 version is reproduced with facsimile pages of the original text, tables and line illustrations.

David Lack, 1947

"A Lack of Offensive Spirit?": The 46th (North Midland) ...

A Lack of Offensive Spirit?' tells the story of Stuart Wortley and the 46th Division from the opening of the war, through the tragedy of the Hohenzollern Redoubt and then, day by day, through the preparations for the attack on Gommecourt.

Alan MacDonald, 2008

Family Homelessness: More Than Simply a Lack of Housing

This book examines the multiple factors that contribute to family homelessness, and uses quantitative and qualitative analyses to identify those factors which represent the major supports and barriers to homeless exit and housing stability.

Karleen Jackson, 2000

From Lack to Excess: "minor" Readings of Latin American ...

"From Lack to Excess analyzes the narrative and rhetorical structures of Latin American colonial texts by establishing a dialogue with studies on minority discourse, minor literatures, and postcolonial theory.

Yolanda Martínez-San Miguel, 2008

A Lack of Temperance

"On the eve of the heated presidential election of 1892, Miss Hattie Davish arrives in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, a scenic resort town where those without the scent of whiskey on their breath have the plight of temperance on their tongues.

Anna Loan-Wilsey, 2012

No Lack of Courage: Operation Medusa, Afghanistan

Moreover, it revealed yet again that Canadian soldiers have no lack of courage. This is the story of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's first battle.

Bernd Horn, 2010

My People Perish for Lack of Knowledge

This book is much like an "Owners Manuel" for understanding "How" to become Victorious, where we were given our "Power of Attorney" and how to walk in that Power every day of our lives.

Mark Sohmer, Pastor, 2010

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «LACK»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term lack is used in the context of the following news items.

Digital Divide: At least 1.1 million Pennsylvania homes lack Internet …

At least 55 million Americans like Emerson lack reliable broadband Internet access at home — an issue that has swiftly moved from a nuisance ... «The Delaware County Daily Times, Jul 15»

Lack of markings decreases jug's value

Its adornment, or more precisely the lack thereof, is the principle factor in determining its value to collectors. Common utilitarian examples, like ... «Quad City Times, Jul 15»

Rockford to study lack of home Internet among poor families - News …

ROCKFORD — City, school, library, public housing and telecommunications leaders will spend the next two weeks trying to determine just how ... «Rockford Register Star, Jul 15»

Lack of exercise twice as deadly as obesity - Times Bulletin

The researchers also found the risk of early death due to lack of exercise are double that posed by obesity and does not necessarily depend on ... «Times Bulletin, Jul 15»

Land Bill: Centre likely to take ordinance route again over lack of …

“The bill is unlikely to be brought before Parliament in the Monsoon Session due to lack of consensus. Hence the only likely probability is its ... «The Indian Express, Jul 15»

Moore letter: Attacks on Pope lack substance - Laramie Boomerang …

Recent letters by Misters Watson, Mancinho and Carducci attacking Pope Francis do nothing more than attempt to brand the man a Socialist of ... «Laramie Boomerang, Jul 15»

How lack of sleep affects willpower - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner …

How lack of sleep affects willpower By Judith Kleinfeld newsminer.com. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner community perspective: Are you eating a ... «Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Jul 15»

SEC Media Days brought out lack of sure starting quarterbacks …

HOOVER, Ala. — The media has cleared out of Alabama, signaling the end of Southeastern Conference Media Days. Each team got its turn to ... «Palm Beach Post, Jul 15»

Doctors claim a lack of new GPs is putting patients' lives at risk NHS …

SCOTTISH LABOUR last week said the country's GP surgeries were in trouble as doctors retire amid a shortage of new recruits. Here, two ... «Scottish Daily Record, Jul 15»

Although they lack color, flycatchers are a feisty family …

Although they lack color, flycatchers are a feisty family Bryan Stevens | For the Birds | Special to the Herald Courier HeraldCourier.com. «Bristol Herald Courier, Jul 15»