Inadequate in number of workers or assistants etc.:
— They're rather short-handed at the moment.

synonyms: short-staffed, undermanned, understaffed.

Roget 651: imperfect; not perfect etc. 650; deficient, defective; faulty, unsound, tainted; out of order, out of tune; cracked, leaky; sprung; warped etc. (distort) 243; lame; injured etc. (deteriorated) 659; peccant etc. (bad) 649; frail etc. (weak) 160; inadequate etc. (insufficient) 640; crude etc. (unprepared) 674; incomplete etc. 53; found wanting; below par; short-handed; below its full strength, under its full strength, below its full complement.    indifferent, middling, ordinary, mediocre; average etc. 29; so-so; coucicouci, milk and water; tolerable, fair, passable; pretty well, pretty good; rather good, moderately good; good; good enough, well enough, adequate; decent; not bad, not amiss; inobjectionable^†, unobjectionable, admissible, bearable, only better than nothing.    secondary, inferior; second-rate, second-best; one-horse [U.S.].    ... show more