for lack of

idiom

: not having (the thing specified)
They called it a comet, for lack of a better term/word.
For lack of anything better to do, we went to the park.

Examples of for lack of in a Sentence

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Instead, the system struggled in clinical settings and was ultimately dismantled—not for lack of promise, but for lack of the governance and grounding needed to succeed in the real world. Amir Banifatemi, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025 And Just Like That… is, for lack of a more elegant term, so goddamn weird this season. Emma Bocchi, Vogue, 6 June 2025 Or the time, for lack of planning, he was forced to do a fifty-one-mile single-push circumambulation of Oregon’s Three Sisters volcanic peaks. Tom Vanderbilt, Outside Online, 5 June 2025 This information has to be excavated, for lack of a better word, with values testing. Suzy Welch, CNBC, 4 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for for lack of

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Cite this Entry

“For lack of.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/for%20lack%20of. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.

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