n.缺乏；粮食不足
There was a dearth of reliable information on the subject. 关于这个课题还缺乏可靠资料。
Many soldiers died because of dearth of food. 很多士兵因为缺少粮食死去。
A dearth of corn caused the prices to go up. 谷物匮乏造成价格上涨。
