Noun
dearth (countable and uncountable, plural dearths)

1. A period or condition when food is rare and hence expensive; famine.
2. (by extension) Scarcity; a lack or short supply.
3. (obsolete) Dearness; the quality of being rare or costly.

Verb
dearth (third-person singular simple present dearths, present participle dearthing, simple past and past participle dearthed)

• (transitive, dated, obsolete) To cause or produce a scarcity in something.