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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

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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 )

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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

The show has been hit by production issues, including a reported budget cut of one million dollars, forcing organisers to issue a statement last month insisting it was going ahead.

From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2026

Her boss, Chief Executive Jennifer Welsh, explained the projected £800m shortfall in Northern Ireland's health budget meant all trusts had been instructed to find savings that "could be delivered without causing harm to service users".

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

The budget deficit is expected to reach 4.4% of GDP this year, compared with a surplus of 0.6% in 2022.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

The project is years behind schedule and more than $1 billion over budget.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

Private school’s not in our budget, so Midtown School of the Arts is the next best thing.

From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas

Meanwhile, if you think you can solve the Social Security crisis yourself, I encourage you to go to the interactive online website run by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and try.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026

Budget bills in Canada are confidence votes and last year Carney's government needed opposition support and abstentions to survive, but his Liberals have since secured a parliamentary majority.

From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026

But in last week's Budget, Healey said that younger workers would see the same increase as older workers, leaving a gap between the two rates this year.

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026

The U.S. currently has 50,000 U.S. forces and 20 Navy ships operating across the Middle East, and the Congressional Budget Office estimates the conflict is costing the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 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

"There are always issues with budgets," Blecher insisted.

From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2026

Understanding these contributions can help researchers develop more complete carbon budgets, which track the sources, movements, and destinations of carbon within the Earth's systems.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 7, 2026

There were also warnings about how the Crown Estate's administration costs had increased significantly, at a time when MPs noted government budgets were under pressure.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

The risk is that consumers’ incomes won’t be able to keep up with prices, resulting in debt, broken budgets and an inability to keep spending.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026

Penelope half hoped he would notice and perhaps even admire the jaunty, galloping rhythm of the words, but he simply counted out the money and went back to his budgets.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

The state budgeted about $4.1 billion for TK in the 2025-26 school year, alongside an additional $2.8 billion for its state preschool program.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

Abubakar has floated a plan for a "targeted" subsidy, described as "capped and budgeted production support tied to fuel refined in Nigeria" to help bring down prices at the pump.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

That amount doesn’t include extra spending related to the U.S. military presence in Japan, which, when finalized, would likely push the total sum beyond the record 9 trillion yen budgeted for the current fiscal year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

The cost of these two clearances alone has been budgeted at £20m by the Environment Agency - although the Kidlington project has come in under the original £7.3m contract.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

But they bowed to Sproul’s judgment that losing Lawrence would be even costlier, and voted to cover all the annual operating and maintenance costs that Lawrence had budgeted for the Rad Lab.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

The community centre is in the heart of Andy Burnham's constituency, Makerfield, and they know all about budgeting here.

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026

If it feels like classic budgeting rules aren’t working for you, you’re not alone.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026

Adam Auriemma on budgeting, renting versus buying, investments, financial advisors, and more!

From Slate ● Oct. 3, 2026

While those estimates don’t guarantee an identical result if the U.S. cuts regulations by 36%, they do make a strong case for the regulatory budgeting approach that British Columbia pioneered.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 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

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Related Words

• account
• allocation
• cost
• total

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