Without possessions, destitute, indigent, needy; scantily furnished. Const. of, rarely in: see b.

Scantily furnished, ill provided. †Also, scant of, wanting in.

In need of a thing.

Without materials. Obsolete. rare.

Misreading of ‘desirous’.

scarce of: poorly or scantily supplied or provided with; deficient in; not having much of, short of. Now rare or Obsolete.

Having a scanty or limited supply; poorly furnished. Const. of.

Wanting some part, element, constituent, or characteristic which is necessary to completeness, or having less than the proper amount of it; wanting…

Of a person: In want of, straitened for. Obsolete exc. dialect.

In predicative use, chiefly of persons. short of: having an insufficient quantity of. Also, not possessing, lacking (something necessary or…

In various transferred uses of sense 2. U.S. Short (of), lacking. Also const. on. Betting slang (see quot. 1895).

colloquial. low on: short of, deficient in.

In predicative use, chiefly of persons. short on: having an insufficient quantity of, deficient in respect of.

Lacking; short. Frequently with on, esp. in to be light on: to be lacking in; to be short of; to have a shortfall of.