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• budget
  budget

  noun

  an estimate, often itemized, of expected income and expense for a given period in the future.
• Budget
  Budget

  noun

  an estimate of British government expenditures and revenues and the financial plans for the ensuing fiscal year presented annually to the House of Commons by the Chancellor of the Exchequer

budget

American  

[buhj-it] / ˈbʌdʒ ɪt /

noun

• budgets
  plural

1. an estimate, often itemized, of expected income and expense for a given period in the future.

2. a plan of operations based on such an estimate.

3. an itemized allotment of funds, time, etc., for a given period.

4. the total sum of money set aside or needed for a purpose.

   the construction budget.

5. a limited stock or supply of something.

   his budget of goodwill.

6. Obsolete. a small bag; pouch.

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adjective

1. reasonably or cheaply priced.

   budget dresses.

verb (used with object)

• budgets,
  present (3rd person singular)
• budgeted,
  past participle,  past
• budgeting
  present participle

1. to plan allotment of (funds, time, etc.).

2. to deal with (specific funds) in a budget.

verb (used without object)

• budgets,
  present (3rd person singular)
• budgeted,
  past participle,  past
• budgeting
  present participle

1. to subsist on or live within a budget.

budget ¹ British  

/ ˈbʌdʒɪt /

noun

1. an itemized summary of expected income and expenditure of a country, company, etc, over a specified period, usually a financial year

2. an estimate of income and a plan for domestic expenditure of an individual or a family, often over a short period, such as a month or a week

3. a restriction on expenditure (esp in the phrase on a budget )

4. (modifier) economical; inexpensive

   budget meals for a family

5. the total amount of money allocated for a specific purpose during a specified period

6. archaic a stock, quantity, or supply

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verb

1. (tr) to enter or provide for in a budget

2. to plan the expenditure of (money, time, etc)

3. (intr) to make a budget

Budget ² British  

/ ˈbʌdʒɪt /

noun

1. an estimate of British government expenditures and revenues and the financial plans for the ensuing fiscal year presented annually to the House of Commons by the Chancellor of the Exchequer

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• budgeter
  noun
• prebudget
  noun
• rebudget
  verb (used with object)
• budgetary
  adjective
• nonbudgetary
  adjective
• prebudgetary
  adjective
• pro-budgeting
  adjective
• unbudgeted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• budgets
  plural

Participles

• budgeting
  present
• budgeted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• budget
  simple
• budgets
  simple
• have budgeted
  perfect
• has budgeted
  perfect
• am budgeting
  progressive
• are budgeting
  progressive
• is budgeting
  progressive
• have been budgeting
  perfect progressive
• has been budgeting
  perfect progressive

Past

• budgeted
  simple
• had budgeted
  perfect
• was budgeting
  progressive
• were budgeting
  progressive
• had been budgeting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will budget
  simple
• will have budgeted
  perfect
• will be budgeting
  progressive
• will have been budgeting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of budget

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English bowgett, from Middle French, bougette, from bouge “bag” (from Latin bulga; see bulge) + -ette -ette )

Explanation

A budget is a sum of money set aside and divided up to cover particular expenses. Like allotting certain amounts for food, rent, movies, and manicures every month to make sure you don't run out of cash. From the Middle French bougette, the noun budget translated to “leather pouch” when it was first used in the early 15th century. Perhaps a leather pouch to hold gold coins? It wasn’t until 1733 that the word took on the more specific financial meaning it has nowadays. You can budget all sorts of things, including time, money, and energy. Every year, Congress tries to balance the federal budget — but that's no easy task.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

budget Budget budgets budgeted budgeting

“You can go get stock-market beta with ETFs in a very fee-efficient and tax-efficient manner, and then use your active budget elsewhere where there might be more opportunities, like fixed income,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

British budget carrier easyJet has called off about 100 flights out of French airports on Saturday and Sunday because of a strike by cabin crew furious over repeated changes to their schedules.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

Breaking that link would “fundamentally change the nature of the program,” said Romina Boccia, director of budget and entitlement policy at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

The streamer ordered more, boosting the budget but keeping the original crew in control.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Paul agreed to accept a ten-dollar annual budget and not to ask for more money.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

Meanwhile, an analysis by the Yale Budget Lab concluded that consumers are paying anywhere from half to the entire cost of the levies through higher prices, depending on the goods.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

Shelter said it wanted him to use October's Budget to "kickstart the council house revolution he promised" by removing financial barriers that prevent councils from building more social rent homes.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

The Congressional Budget Office expects them to rise to nearly 7% of GDP by 2036, at which point gross national debt is expected to be around 140% of GDP.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

The Congressional Budget Office finds real wealth in the median American family up 131% between 1989 and 2022, and up 232% at the 25th percentile.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

“Right there is James Atlas, the writer from The New Yorker. Over here, that’s Frank Raines. He is the head of the Office of Management and Budget in the Clinton administration.”

From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore

"Hobby spending is a small amount of overall retail sales, but it's a good gauge of whether consumers have any money leftover in their budgets."

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

Alston Causey, a vice president at the travel agency Travelmation, also said he’s seeing his clients get savvy with their itineraries as a way to trim their budgets.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026

Burnham told BBC's Wake up to Money he will deliver an "accumulation of smaller things" that "combine to take the pressure down" on household budgets.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

The new federal tax-credit program could contribute to similar academic success, while costing state budgets nothing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

As law enforcement budgets exploded, so did prison and jail populations.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Madi Marotta, a 26-year-old in Austin, budgeted around $2,000 this year for concerts and another $1,000 for traveling to shows and getting hotels.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

This summer her budget is £500, and she sits down with her children to discuss how much they have budgeted and to brainstorm activities they can do together.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

“If the answers are honest and you can afford it without destabilizing yourself, have the best time and go! Don’t let anyone guilt you out of joy you’ve budgeted for,” she told MarketWatch.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 12, 2026

While some fans were lucky enough to nab $28 tickets, others begrudgingly spent more than they budgeted.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026

At McMillan’s suggestion, Lawrence shrank his proposal to a 6-billion-volt machine budgeted at just under $10 million.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

The report also identified gaps in financial and budgeting knowledge among district leaders and school board members.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

Under the updated rules, associations budgeting less than 15% can still qualify if a reserve study supports it—provided the budget includes the study’s highest recommended reserve allocation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

The expense of graduation is keenly felt by many students and their families with costs ranging from transport and accommodation to clothing and photographs, says Tom Allingham of budgeting advice site Save The Student.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

The variety keeps life interesting, but my income changes from month to month, which makes budgeting difficult.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026

She had traveled for stories a few times in the past—down to Columbus, to investigate state budgeting cuts; up to Ann Arbor, when a former Shaker student had started at quarterback in the Michigan-OSU game.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

Related Words

• account
• allocation
• cost
• total