shortfall
n. countablen. a situation where you have less of something than you need or expected. It is often used to talk about missing money, supplies, or time.
n. a deficit or failure to reach a required or expected amount. Often used in financial or logistical contexts to describe the gap between a target and the actual result.
The company had a budget shortfall this year.
A sudden shortfall in grain production forced the government to increase food imports from neighboring countries.
Economists warned that the projected revenue shortfall could lead to significant cuts in public services unless the tax code was reformed to capture digital transactions.
Commonly paired with 'in' to specify the missing resource, such as a 'shortfall in funding' or a 'shortfall in production'.