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 funds that adjust for volatility, meanwhile, will likely continue to deleverage but “with small impact,” they said.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 27, 2026
Paramount will have a lot of debt following the deal—nearly $80 billion—and it plans to deleverage rapidly, a goal that has its Wall Street skeptics.
From Barron's ● Mar. 13, 2026
“FAT Brands plans to use the filings to deleverage the balance sheet, maximize value for its stakeholders, and support continued growth of its brands,” the statement showed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 27, 2026
"A significant tightening of financial conditions would heighten the pressure on the most highly indebted governments, households, and firms. If the public and private sectors are forced to deleverage simultaneously, growth prospects will suffer."
From Reuters ● Dec. 15, 2021
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
James Hardie said the divestiture is expected to strengthen its balance sheet, accelerate deleveraging and improve its margin profile and return on invested capital.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
For Kabra, though, who outlined his thoughts in a note to clients Thursday, “the biggest deleveraging phase in Korean equities is nearly complete.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
Valentini says any delay to purchase Tanenbaum’s Kilmer Sports’ stake “could have delayed the important deleveraging event of selling a minority interest in sports and media to new private investors.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
“With the deleveraging process well advanced and a more flexible capital structure in place, WD retains the ability to continue returning capital while benefiting from durable nearline and AI-driven demand trends,” Daryanani wrote.
From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
