deleverage

[ dee-lev-er-ij, ‑-lee-ver‑ ]

verb (used without object)

, de·lev·er·aged, de·lev·er·ag·ing.

1. to decrease financial leverage by paying off debt:

   Their balance sheet significantly improved after they deleveraged.

verb (used with object)

, de·lev·er·aged, de·lev·er·ag·ing.

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

/ -vrɪdʒ; diːˈlɛvərɪdʒ /

verb

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of deleverage¹

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