shortage vs deficit

shortage and deficit both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
shortage	Yes	No	No	No
deficit	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, shortage and deficit are synonyms defined as:

shortage and deficit: the property of being an amount by which something is less than expected or required

Other synonyms of shortage include shortfall.

shortage (noun)	deficit (noun)
the property of being an amount by which something is less than expected or required	the property of being an amount by which something is less than expected or required
an acute insufficiency	an excess of liabilities over assets (usually over a certain period)
	(sports) the score by which a team or individual is losing
	a deficiency or failure in neurological or mental functioning