deficit

[ def-uh-sit; British also dih-fis-it ]

/ ˈdɛf ə sɪt; British also dɪˈfɪs ɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR deficit ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the amount by which a sum of money falls short of the required amount.

the amount by which expenditures or liabilities exceed income or assets.

a lack or shortage; deficiency.

a disadvantage, impairment, or handicap: The team's major deficit is its poor pitching.

a loss, as in the operation of a business.

Nearby words

deficiency disease, deficiency judgment, deficiency symptom, deficient, deficient number, deficit, deficit financing, deficit spending, defier, defilade, defile

Origin of deficit

1775–85; < Latin dēficit (it) lacks, 3rd person singular present indicative of dēficere; see deficient

Related forms

su·per·def·i·cit, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for deficit

The deficit is down to 2.8 percent of GDP, from a high of 10.1 percent in the wake of the meltdown.
The Real Reason Democrats Lost|Michael Tomasky|November 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Then he faced a $3.7 billion deficit, the largest in state history, and the largest per capita in the nation.
Dan Malloy Is Progressives’ Dream Governor. So Why Isn’t He Winning?|David Freedlander|October 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Schools closed, the deficit ballooned, highways crumbled, jobs disappeared—I imagine ruby slippers were hocked.
Will the GOP Get the Message in Kansas?|Ana Marie Cox|October 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Nor is the deficit, which has lost its saliency since it was cut in half to $500 billion.
The Only Way for Democrats to Win|Jonathan Alter|October 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST

That is to say, the factors that help drive the budget into deficit in the first place make them much worse.
The Battle of the Deficit Bulge Has Been Won|Daniel Gross|October 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At the end of the year $35 was due the librarian for salary and there was a deficit of $33.93.
Papers and proceedings of the thirty-fifth general meeting of the American Library Association, 1913|Various
The deficit of fifty thousand grew under the microscope of investigation to sixty thousand, eventually to seventy-five thousand.
Wolf Breed|Jackson Gregory
Earlier ministers had increased the national revenues and cut down expenses, but the deficit had not been wiped out.
A History of Spain|Charles E. Chapman
He could not continue to borrow, and economy, however strict, would not suffice to cover the deficit.
An Introduction to the History of Western Europe|James Harvey Robinson
He was worn out, at last; and his poor, tired brain took no thought how to make up the deficit.
Silver and Gold|Dane Coolidge

British Dictionary definitions for deficit

deficit

/ (ˈdɛfɪsɪt, dɪˈfɪsɪt) /

noun

the amount by which an actual sum is lower than that expected or required

an excess of liabilities over assets
an excess of expenditures over revenues during a certain period
an excess of payments over receipts on the balance of payments

Word Origin for deficit

C18: from Latin, literally: there is lacking, from dēficere to be lacking

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

Medicine definitions for deficit

deficit

[ dĕf′ĭ-sĭt ]

n.

A lack or deficiency of a substance.

A lack or impairment in mental or physical functioning.

Culture definitions for deficit

deficit

A shortage, especially the amount by which a sum of money falls short of what is required; a debt.

deficit

noun

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of deficit

Related forms

Examples from the Web for deficit

British Dictionary definitions for deficit

deficit

noun

Word Origin for deficit

Medicine definitions for deficit

deficit

n.

Culture definitions for deficit

deficit