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escasear

to be scarce

verb ehs-kah-seh-AHR Rare
People & Society Money

Also means

to run short

Usage Note

Escasear is an intransitive verb describing a resource or good becoming increasingly scarce. Unlike faltar ('to be missing/lacking'), escasear implies a gradual process: el agua escasea en verano ('water runs short in summer'). The related adjective is escaso and the noun is escasez ('shortage').

Examples

"El combustible empieza a escasear en la región."

Natural Translation

Fuel is starting to run scarce in the region.

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