defund

[dee-fuhnd]

verb (used with object)

1. to withdraw financial support from, especially as an instrument of legislative control.

   Many university programs were defunded by the recent government cutbacks.

2. to deplete the financial resources of.

   The cost of the lawsuit defunded the company's operating budget.

Word History and Origins

Origin of defund¹

de- + fund

Example Sentences

Mamdani, a Democratic socialist who has made past comments about defunding the police, had pressed Tisch to stay as commissioner, in part as an olive branch to Wall Street and real-estate executives.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Even under a “mild defunding scenario,” the projected excess deaths would be 9.4 million people, including 2.5 million involving children under five.

Read more on Salon

A milder defunding scenario would see 9.4 million excess deaths, the research said.

Read more on Barron's

Ms. Wilson defeated incumbent Mayor Bruce Harrell, who had tried to reverse the damage of the “defund the police” movement after he took office in 2022.

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Mr. Harrell has spent four years trying to restore the Seattle Police Department after the damage of the 2020 “defund” movement.

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