From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishshortcomingshort‧com‧ing /ˈʃɔːtˌkʌmɪŋ $ ˈʃɔːrt-/ ●○○ noun [countable usually plural] FAULT/something WRONGa fault or weakness that makes someone or something less successful or effective than they should be Peter was painfully aware of his own shortcomings.shortcoming of the shortcomings of our local government systemshortcoming in The report suggested that there were severe shortcomings in police tactics.
Examples from the Corpus
shortcoming• Lectures about shortcomings do not work.• Most voters have a pretty good idea of his shortcomings and strange habits by now.• C., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, charged that the pact had major shortcomings in just those areas.• Critics take pleasure in focusing on shortcomings and ignoring strengths.• In the commercial world, this is where architects have to come to terms with their own shortcomings.• He bravely acknowledged his own personal shortcomings.• It reveals shortcomings in research questions, methodological approach and interpretations of findings.• They urged the committee to investigate new eavesdropping systems already in operation to address Echelon s shortcomings. 