scarcity UK /ˈskɛəsɪti/US /ˈskɛɹsɪti/ noun2 •The condition of something being scarce or deficient.Praise […] owes its value only to its scarcity. — 1751 •An inadequate amount of something; a shortage.The crucial and intersecting challenges of scarcities, both emerging and intensifying, will consume China’s custodians over the next decade. — 2013 formsscarcities