deficit
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.
Origin of deficit
1Other words from deficit
- su·per·def·i·cit, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use deficit in a sentence
The underlying economic factors that cause deficits to shrink often create circumstances that push them to shrink even faster.
A shock or recession could send deficits spiraling much higher.
This is not to say that we should never worry about deficits.
The 2010 estimate was that the ACA would cut deficits by $124 billion over its first decade.
As a libertarian, I would cut federal deficits primarily through spending cuts.
One cardinal principle of the greatest English finance ministers has been the avoidance of deficits or undue surpluses.
Frequently recurring deficits are, in themselves, a condemnation of the methods under which they are found.
One cannot wonder that there were occasional deficits in the bank account at Lindsey Row.
The Life of James McNeill Whistler | Elizabeth Robins PennellHad, indeed, all his excesses of payment been gathered into one fund, that fund would have covered his deficits ten times over.
The Posthumous Works of Thomas De Quincey, Vol. 1 (2 vols) | Thomas De QuinceyIt is evident that Russian railways can afford to lose; their deficits last year amounted to the sum of fourteen million roubles.
British Dictionary definitions for deficit
/ (ˈdɛfɪsɪt, dɪˈfɪsɪt) /
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
Origin of deficit
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for deficit
A shortage, especially the amount by which a sum of money falls short of what is required; a debt.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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