deleverage

American  

[dee-lev-er-ij, ‑-lee-ver‑] / diˈlɛv ər ɪdʒ, ‑ˈli vər‑ /

verb (used without object)

deleveraged, deleveraging

1. to decrease financial leverage by paying off debt.

   Their balance sheet significantly improved after they deleveraged.

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verb (used with object)

deleveraged, deleveraging

1. to reduce the debt of.

   He drastically deleveraged the company to make it profitable.

noun

1. an instance of this.

   The economic crisis has forced a deleverage.

deleverage British  

/ diːˈlɛvərɪdʒ, -vrɪdʒ /

verb

1. finance (of an organization) to reduce the ratio of debt capital to equity capital

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Etymology

Origin of deleverage

First recorded in 1980–85; de- ( def. ) + leverage ( def. )

Example Sentences

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

Valaris’ earnings and backlog should help Transocean deleverage faster and improve cash flow.

From Barron's • Feb. 9, 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

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