Meaning
A deficiency or need (of something desirable or necessary); an absence, want, dearth.
Etymology
Origin: Old English
From Middle English lack, lakke, lak, from Old English *læc (“deficiency, lack, want”), from Proto-West Germanic *lak, from Proto-Germanic *laką, *lakaz (“slackness”), from Proto-Germanic *lakaz (“limp, slack, loose, low”), related to *lak(k)ōną (“to blame, reproach”), from Proto-Indo-European *lok-néh₂-. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Lak (“lack”), Middle Low German lack, lak (“lack”), Dutch lak (“lack, deficiency, calumny”), Icelandic lakur (“lacking”). Related also to Middle Dutch laken (“to blame, lack”). Eclipsed non-native Middle English carence (“absence, lack”), from Old French carence.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
NYT Puzzle Appearances
Accepted in 13 recorded puzzles:
- 2026-03-03ABCEKLO
- 2025-12-02CLAKEDH
- 2025-10-23ABCFILK
- 2025-09-11CAGIKLN
- 2025-04-10CALEBKP
- 2025-03-14KRALOCB
- 2025-02-19AOCLEDK
- 2024-07-03CAKLORW
- 2024-05-26CAKEBIL
- 2024-05-03LAICBFK
- 2023-11-10KACDEHL
- 2023-05-08CLAKFBI
+1 earlier appearances in the archive.