lack

«lack» in Mova's school dictionary: not to have something, or not to have enough of it — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

verb (lack, lacks, lacked, lacking); noun (lack)

meaning for a pupil

1) To lack means not to have something, or not to have enough of it. tree →

2) A lack is not having enough: a lack of sleep, a lack of water. tree →

sense in the lessons

In maths: a shortage: how many more are needed to reach a whole set or an amount: needed = goal − have; «lacks 3» means 3 more are needed. In science: plants die from a lack of water or light. In health: a lack of sleep makes you tired. Phrases: lack of, for lack of, lack nothing.

examples

• He lacks $3 to buy the book. tree →
• The team lacks 2 players. tree →
• The class lacks 5 chairs. tree →
• How much does she lack to have 50? tree →
• The plants died from a lack of water. tree →
• A lack of sleep makes it hard to think. tree →
• The town lacks a swimming pool. tree →
• The game was stopped for lack of light. tree →
• There was no lack of society at our home. tree →

note

Verb without «of»: «he lacks money», noun with «of»: «a lack of money». Needed = goal − have; «lacks 3» means 3 more are needed. Trap: it is not the amount left over.

In the corpora

• When an old person gets confused or calls you the wrong name, it is the illness, not a lack of love.
• Dogs have a special eyebrow muscle, which wolves mostly lack, that lifts the inner eyebrow to make puppy eyes.
• Vitamin C helps wounds heal and keeps gums and skin healthy, and sailors once got scurvy from lacking it.
• Long ago sailors without fresh fruit got sick with scurvy because they lacked vitamin C.
• And truth is lacking, and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «lack» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.