deficit

[ def-uh-sit; British also dih-fis-it ]
See synonyms for: deficitdeficits on Thesaurus.com

noun
  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.

  1. a lack or shortage; deficiency.

  2. a disadvantage, impairment, or handicap: The team's major deficit is its poor pitching.

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

Origin of deficit

1
First recorded in 1775–85; from Latin dēficit “(it) lacks,” 3rd-person singular present of dēficere “to fail, run short, lack, weaken”; see deficient

Other words from deficit

  • su·per·def·i·cit, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use deficit in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for deficit

deficit

/ (ˈdɛfɪsɪt, dɪˈfɪsɪt) /


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

    • an excess of liabilities over assets

    • an excess of expenditures over revenues during a certain period

    • an excess of payments over receipts on the balance of payments

Origin of deficit

1
C18: from Latin, literally: there is lacking, from dēficere to be lacking

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for deficit

deficit

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

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.