deficit

American  

[def-uh-sit, dih-fis-it] / ˈdɛf ə sɪt, dɪˈfɪs ɪt /

noun

• deficits
  plural

1. the amount by which a sum of money falls short of the required amount.

2. the amount by which expenditures or liabilities exceed income or assets.

3. a lack or shortage; deficiency.

4. a disadvantage, impairment, or handicap.

   The team's major deficit is its poor pitching.

5. a loss, as in the operation of a business.

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deficit British  

/ ˈdɛfɪsɪt, dɪˈfɪsɪt /

noun

1. the amount by which an actual sum is lower than that expected or required

2. 1. an excess of liabilities over assets

   2. an excess of expenditures over revenues during a certain period

   3. an excess of payments over receipts on the balance of payments

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deficit Cultural  

1. A shortage, especially the amount by which a sum of money falls short of what is required; a debt.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• superdeficit
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• deficits
  plural

Etymology

Origin of deficit

First recorded in 1775–85; from Latin dēficit “(it) lacks,” 3rd-person singular present of dēficere “to fail, run short, lack, weaken”; see deficient

Explanation

If you're running a deficit, you are losing. You might be losing money or losing a game. Either way, you better make up for it. When the government runs on a deficit, often the loss can be offset by a raise in taxes. If you have a deficit of iron in your body, you should consider eating more spinach. The word deficit comes from the Latin deficit meaning "it is wanting." A deficit is characterized by the wanting of something missing.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

deficit deficits

Faced with rising borrowing costs, a deficit of 5.4% of GDP and a public debt at its highest level since the 1940s, Lecornu is financially as well as politically hamstrung.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

France’s massive budget deficit pushed borrowing costs up to multidecade highs – and it turns out the moves were even more historic than that.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

To be sure, polls put Mélenchon far behind Marine Le Pen of the National Rally, who just released a more orthodox plan to reduce the deficit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

"It feels like… the trust deficit is so big, I just don't know that they're going to be able to recover."

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

The three outs come quick—which is great for us because the deficit we need to overcome doesn’t increase.

From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone

Budget deficits close to 10% of gross domestic product have pushed Brazil’s central bank to maintain high interest rates.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

"They can be very strong and, in some ways, make good leaders... but there are many deficits to their leadership and it's all about them and not about other people," he added;

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

“We had repeatedly emphasised that as the year drew to a close, the high deficits were likely to come back into focus, with the Swiss franc set to benefit,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Treasurys have endured the humiliation of heavy losses brought on by exploding deficits and mounting inflation.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026

Milton, however, was aware of none of these physical deficits.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Related Words

• loss
• shortfall