Definition of "shortfall" []

• A failure to attain a specified amount or level; a shortage. (noun)
• The amount by which a supply falls short of expectation, need, or demand. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Occasionally reform opponents will say there's no crisis now, but there was then -- but the shortfall is actually bigger now."
• "However, Basu and other economists suggest that the majority of the shortfall is because of the bad economy rather than the way Marylanders reacted to the tax increase."
• "The $8 billion shortfall is one of the largest crises Ohio has ever faced."