in the red

Idioms  

1. In debt, as in Joshua can't keep track of funds, so half the time his company is in the red. This expression alludes to the bookkeeping practice of marking debits in red ink and credits in black. It survives even in the age of computerized accounts. So does the antonym, in the black, for being financially solvent or out of debt, as in Bill was happy to say they were in the black. [Early 1900s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

in the red

Sitting in the red dust, just 5km from its intended landing site, was the largely intact Beagle 2.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

The sharp selloff in the Treasury market has many bond funds facing negative total returns in 2026, and bond exchange-traded funds in the red for the year.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

European indexes were also in the red at the open.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

After all three indexes on Wall Street ended deep in the red, along with Europe, Asia followed suit.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

In order for the man in the red jacket to be okay, he needed to know that he could scare us.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold