budget

[ buhj-it ]
See synonyms for budget on Thesaurus.com
noun
  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.

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

  2. the total sum of money set aside or needed for a purpose: the construction budget.

  3. a limited stock or supply of something: his budget of goodwill.

  4. Obsolete. a small bag; pouch.

adjective
  1. reasonably or cheaply priced: budget dresses.

verb (used with object),budg·et·ed, budg·et·ing.
  1. to plan allotment of (funds, time, etc.).

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

verb (used without object),budg·et·ed, budg·et·ing.
  1. to subsist on or live within a budget.

Origin of budget

1
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English bowgett, from Middle French, bougette, from bouge “bag” (from Latin bulga; see bulge) + -ette -ette)

Other words from budget

  • budg·et·ar·y [buhj-i-ter-ee], /ˈbʌdʒ ɪˌtɛr i/, adjective
  • budg·et·er, noun
  • non·budg·et·ar·y, adjective
  • pre·budg·et, noun, adjective
  • pre·budg·et·ar·y, adjective
  • pro-budg·et·ing, adjective
  • re·budg·et, verb (used with object), re·budg·et·ed, re·budg·et·ing.
  • un·budg·et·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use budget in a sentence

  • One of the first items drastically reduced in the local and state budgets was school expenditures.

  • These various budgets are given that we may be sure to have some approach to a standard for each part of the country.

    The American Country Girl | Martha Foote Crow
  • Here are the budgets of some of the shirt-waist makers who were earning Natalya's wage of $6 a week, or less than this wage.

    Making Both Ends Meet | Sue Ainslie Clark and Edith Wyatt
  • The yearly sums paid to the car companies by factory workers too exhausted to walk home are very striking in these budgets.

    Making Both Ends Meet | Sue Ainslie Clark and Edith Wyatt
  • The bailiff had now opened his books, and the Back o th Mooiners were unpacking their budgets on the pieceboards.

    Back o' the Moon | Oliver Onions

British Dictionary definitions for budget (1 of 2)

budget

/ (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

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

  2. (modifier) economical; inexpensive: budget meals for a family

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

  4. archaic a stock, quantity, or supply

verb-gets, -geting or -geted
  1. (tr) to enter or provide for in a budget

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

  1. (intr) to make a budget

Origin of budget

1
C15 (meaning: leather pouch, wallet): from Old French bougette, diminutive of bouge, from Latin bulga, of Gaulish origin; compare Old English bælg bag

Derived forms of budget

  • budgetary, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for Budget (2 of 2)

Budget

/ (ˈbʌdʒɪt) /


noun
  1. the Budget 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

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