deleverage
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
Etymology
Origin of deleverage
First recorded in 1980–85; de- ( def. ) + leverage ( def. )
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.
See Examples For:
The company’s store size continues to expand, they add, which could lead to severe operating deleverage if sales growth declines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026
When the war began a fortnight later, however, and hedge funds rushed to not just deleverage their books but to de-gross them, gold slumped.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 22, 2026
Paramount will have nearly $80 billion in debt after the deal and plans to deleverage rapidly, a goal that has raised eyebrows up and down Wall Street.
From Barron's ● Mar. 19, 2026
Earnings "impact is difficult to quantify but gaming's high margin and low variable cost means any revenue reduction would cause substantial operational deleverage", the note added.
From Reuters ● Jul. 17, 2023
It would have the ability to deleverage in coming years, but an estimated $1.6 billion in year-end 2015 free cash flow would provide little margin for error.
From Forbes ● Apr. 23, 2015
With the noteholder agreement, the company has "an exit path from Chapter 11 as a deleveraged business, poised for continued growth," Fox said in the filing.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2018
Shadow banking has grown like topsy since the financial crisis, in large part because big banks have deleveraged their balance sheets and risk has migrated to the shadow areas of finance.
From Time ● Oct. 14, 2015
In the global financial crisis, "too many balance sheets deleveraged simultaneously, threatening a global depression and forcing governments to step in with their own balance sheets to arrest an increasingly disorderly process," El-Erian wrote.
From Reuters ● May 13, 2010
The irony is that in the deleveraged society the U.S. is in the process of becoming, it's the careful consumer who may ultimately bail out the economy.
From Time Magazine Archive
A deal by MinRes to sell part of its lithium business to Posco for US$765 million—due to complete in 1H FY27—should accelerate deleveraging, Macquarie adds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
It’s also attributable to an immensely painful derisking and deleveraging process among domestic retail investors who had been riding the stock market’s blistering rally throughout 2025 and the first half of 2026.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026
Simultaneously, higher volatility feeds risk models triggering margin calls and deleveraging as lenders further tighten liquidity.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
War-induced high oil prices, exceptional refining margins and simplification efforts help BP’s deleveraging efforts, she says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
“We are going through the greatest deleveraging in the history of financial services and it’s going to go on and on and on,” he said.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
