LACK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does lack mean? 

• LACK (noun)
  The noun LACK has 1 sense:

1. the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable

  Familiarity information: LACK used as a noun is very rare.

• LACK (verb)
  The verb LACK has 1 sense:

1. be without

  Familiarity information: LACK used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LACK (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The state of needing something that is absent or unavailable

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

deficiency; lack; want

Context example:

for want of a nail the shoe was lost

Hypernyms ("lack" is a kind of...):

demand; need (a condition requiring relief)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "lack"):

absence (the state of being absent)

dearth; famine; shortage (an acute insufficiency)

deficit (a deficiency or failure in neurological or mental functioning)

mineral deficiency (lack of a mineral micronutrient that is essential for normal nutrition or metabolism)

shortness (the condition of being short of something)

stringency; tightness (a state occasioned by scarcity of money and a shortage of credit)

Derivation:

lack (be without)

• LACK (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they lack    ... he / she / it lacks   
Past simple: lacked   
Past participle: lacked   
-ing form: lacking   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Be without

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

lack; miss

Context example:

There is something missing in my jewelry box!

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "lack"):

want (be without, lack; be deficient in)

exclude (lack or fail to include)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

lack (the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable)

 Context examples 

An acute leukemia in which the blasts lack sufficient evidence to classify as myeloid or lymphoid or they have morphologic and/or immunophenotypic characteristics of both myeloid and lymphoid cells.

(Acute Leukemia of Ambiguous Lineage, NCI Thesaurus)

Mice genetically engineered to lack a functioning version of the enzyme-coding gene showed abnormalities in working memory, mimicking those commonly seen in schizophrenia patients.

(Schizophrenia risk gene linked to cognitive deficits in mice, National Institutes of Health)

Neurons from patients with type 1 Gaucher disease without Parkinson’s disease showed similar results, but lacked alpha-synuclein accumulation.

(Molecule may impact Gaucher, Parkinson’s disease, NIH)

A rare disorder characterized by the lack of ability to recognize individuals, objects, shapes, sounds, or smells.

(Agnosia, NCI Thesaurus)

The neoplastic B-lymphocytes express the ALK kinase but they lack the 2;5 translocation.

(ALK-Positive Large B-Cell Lymphoma, NCI Thesaurus)

A malignant neoplasm composed of melanocytes, which lack melanin.

(Amelanotic melanoma, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

The lack or loss of hair from areas of the body where hair is usually found.

(Alopecia, NCI Dictionary)

A benzopyran lacking the indole ring of the triptans with vasoconstrictor activity.

(Alniditan, NCI Thesaurus)

"Most corn is used for animal feed, but it lacks methionine — a key amino acid — and we found an effective way to add it."

(US Researchers Genetically Modify Corn to Boost Nutritional Value, VOA News)

If phosphorus comes from supernova and travels across space in meteoritic rock, the researchers wondered if young planets near the wrong kind of supernova may find themselves lacking in reactive phosphorus.

(Finding Alien Life Unlikely Due to Lack of Phosphorus in Universe, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)