lack
lack — 名詞
1. the situation when something that is needed or expected is absent or available o
缺乏;不足
所需事物不足或缺漏
the situation when something that is needed or expected is absent or available only in a smaller amount than required — for example, a region suffering from a lack of rain, or a team losing because of a lack of preparation.
The project failed due to a lack of funding from investors.
該專案因為缺乏投資者的資金而以失敗告終。
collocation: due to a lack of [resource]
Many children in rural Kenya suffer from a lack of clean drinking water.
肯亞鄉村的許多兒童因缺乏乾淨的飲用水而受苦。
collocation: suffer from a lack of [something]
Nila's lack of experience showed clearly during her first week on the job.
Nila 缺乏經驗的情況在她上班第一週就明顯表現出來。
There is a serious lack of affordable housing in the city centre.
市中心嚴重缺乏 affordable housing(平價住宅)。
- shortage
more concrete; used when there is a measurable, often smaller amount than needed (e.g. food shortage, staff shortage)
- absence
stronger — implies something is completely missing rather than just insufficient
- deficiency
more formal; often used in medical or technical contexts
文法句型
a/the lack of [something]
for lack of [something]
no lack of [something]
用法筆記
Always followed by 'of' when describing what is missing. The phrase 'for lack of' means 'because there is not enough of' and often appears in formal or written English.
常見錯誤
lack — 動詞
1. to be missing something that people depend on, or to have too small an amount of
缺少;欠缺
不具備或不足所需之物
to be missing something that people depend on, or to have too small an amount of it — for instance, lacking the courage to speak in public, or a dish that is bland because it needs more salt.
Theo lacks the confidence to speak in front of large groups.
Theo 缺乏在眾人面前發言的自信。
pattern: lacks [the] + abstract noun + to-infinitive
The report lacks important details about the company's financial situation.
這份報告缺少關於公司財務狀況的重要細節。
Salma's cooking lacks the spice that her grandmother's recipes had.
Salma 做的菜少了祖母食譜中的那種香料風味。
Many small businesses lack the resources to compete with large corporations.
許多小企業缺乏與大型企業競爭的資源。
文法句型
lack + noun phrase
lack + noun phrase + to-infinitive
用法筆記
Unlike the noun form, the verb 'lack' is NOT followed by 'of'. Simply say 'lack [something]'. This verb is typically not used in the passive (e.g. '~is lacked~' is incorrect). In informal British English, 'be lacking in' is sometimes used instead: 'She is lacking in confidence.'