shortfall

Etymology

It is formed from English short + fall,^[2][3][4][5] after the verbal phrase fall short.^{[2][3][4][6][5]}

Earliest recorded meaning

An instance of something, especially revenue, being less than expected, or the amount by which it falls short: 1837, in C. Lofft's Self-formation.^[2] The OED, revised in 2025, has the earliest date.^[2] Etymonline and Merriam-Webster give 1895,^[3][4] Dictionary.com 1890–95,^[5] and the Shorter Oxford the late 19th century.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline defines the word as the amount by which a supply falls short.^[3] The OED's definition covers both an instance of falling short and the difference itself, and also a decline or downturn;^[2] the Shorter Oxford adds a shortcoming and a loss.^[6] The word is now used especially of money, as in budgets and revenue.^[2][7]

Timeline

• 1837 – an instance of falling short, or the amount by which something falls short.^[2] Etymonline and Merriam-Webster date the word to 1895.^[3][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A failure to reach an expected or required amount or level; a shortage: a shortfall in donations.^[8][4][7]
2. The amount by which something falls short; a deficit: a shortfall of three million dollars.^[8][4][7][2]

Related words

• short
• fall
• fall short

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin