budget deficit

British

noun

the amount by which government expenditure exceeds income from taxation, customs duties, etc, in any one fiscal year

"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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

However, there haven’t been great improvements in the annual budget deficit and the national debt.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

The move higher in gilt yields also came after data on Friday showed a larger-than-expected budget deficit in February of £14.3 billion.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 20, 2026

The Board of Education narrowly approved the cuts in February as part of a plan to reduce a projected budget deficit.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026

The U.S. is running a budget deficit that will probably go up.

From Barron's • Mar. 5, 2026

Through knowledge, political will, and perhaps some luck, we seem to have tamed inflation and the budget deficit.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023