famine

Plural: famines

Noun

An extreme scarcity of food, causing widespread hunger.
an acute insufficiency
a severe shortage of food (as through crop failure) resulting in violent hunger and starvation and death
Extreme shortage of food in a region.
A period of extreme shortage of food in a region.
Starvation or malnutrition.
Severe shortage or lack of something.

Examples

After two turns with only vowels, I faced a word famine on my Scrabble rack.

Origin / Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French famine, itself from the root of Latin fames. Cognate with Spanish hambruna (“famine”).

Synonyms

dearth, shortage

Scrabble Score: 11

famine: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
famine: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
famine: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 13

famine: valid Words With Friends Word