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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

“I don’t know how to budget for it,” Yoseph said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

It was the first time a Welsh government has lost a vote on a supplementary budget - which is in addition to the main budget exercise that happens in the autumn.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

With no budget to buy furniture, “all I had was a bed and a tiny two-seater kitchen table,” Roe recalled.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

Net interest on government debt will exceed $1.1 trillion in 2026, more than the defense budget, Druckenmiller notes.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

There wasn’t much of a budget, so Luma relied on donations, which didn’t always work out.

From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John

Experts have previously warned that he and Chancellor John Healey will have little financial room to manoeuvre in their first Budget on 28 October.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

The federal budget deficit is expected to reach $2.1 trillion in fiscal year 2026, or around 6% of gross domestic product, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

One Washington-based group, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, is urging lawmakers to commit to no new borrowing and, from there, to agree on a fiscal goal for the country.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026

For the fiscal year to date, borrowing totaled 56.7 billion pounds, a decline of 6 billion pounds from the same period last year, but 2.3 billion pounds above Office for Budget Responsibility projections.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

The Budget Lodging clerk, who seems to have some familiarity with the housing nightmares of low-wage workers, suggests I keep trying motels.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

Unlike the federal government, states generally must balance their budgets annually.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026

Many authorities said digital reform would help to balance future budgets, but warned technology alone would not solve wider funding pressures.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

Wars, the bursting of the dot-com bubble and tax cuts sent budgets off course in the early 2000s.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

That makes family budgets even tighter going into the new school year.

From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026

“Quinzy is Edward Ashton, and your theory about the haystack was correct. His true purpose has nothing to do with school songs or jam budgets or overgrown ivy.”

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

So far SpaceX is in line for more than $8 billion in Golden Dome-related contracts—at least a third of the total budgeted for the project so far.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

Each of these programs went years past their original delivery deadlines and cost far more than originally budgeted.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 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

First, experts in mosquito control complained that Congress had not budgeted enough money for the campaign to succeed.

From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy

He served from 2008 to 2014 as Mr. Putin’s deputy minister of economic development, overseeing forecasting, strategic planning and budgeting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

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

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

Universities offer a range of practical and wellbeing services, including budgeting advice, financial support, counselling and study support sessions.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

Mecham started in 2004 by sharing a budgeting spreadsheet as a broke grad student.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

Dorothy updated her classes with a unit called Wartime Mathematics, teaching students to apply arithmetic operations to household budgeting and wartime ration books and updating classic word problems with airplanes instead of cars.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Related Words

• account
• allocation
• cost
• total