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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

When it comes to tracking AI spending on the corporate budget, Trkay said the technology is no longer a separate line item.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

Ella gave herself an imaginary budget of £1,000 each day to spend on imaginary purchases, which "scratched the itch" of shopping without the cost.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

The Space Force budget request for fiscal 2027 included $2.2 billion to invest in launch infrastructure.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

But this was still an outsize chunk of its $660 million annual budget, and most wasn’t covered by insurance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

"Girls, what's the use of all this talk? Remember, I've got no extra money in my budget."

From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins

The businessman called on Burnham to use his first Budget, scheduled for 27 October, to lower costs for employers and change the government's position on business rates.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

Ashley said the High Street will be "further devastated" without major reforms, and warned Burnham's suggestion he will consider further business rates changes in the coming Budget are "too little, too late".

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

The numbers are based on calculations from the Congressional Budget Office, and have been confirmed by the CBO.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

Despite recent efforts to stabilize ties between the two superpowers, the effective tariff rate on Chinese imports was 23.2% in June, according to the Penn Wharton Budget Model, well above the global 7% average.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 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

Finally, soaring medical costs are gobbling up family and government budgets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

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

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

From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026

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

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

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

“I think we’ve budgeted for more than enough,” van Regteren said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 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

As a result, another reason the federal government was able to climb out of its debt hole was more prudent budgeting.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

The shift in their budgeting isn’t just about how much U.S. companies are spending on AI.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026

When I say run a company, I mean keeping track of inventory, staying in touch with customers, recruiting, project management, product development, scheduling, budgeting, and human resources.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman

Related Words

• account
• allocation
• cost
• total