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• budget
  budget

  noun

  an estimate, often itemized, of expected income and expense for a given period in the future.
• Budget
  Budget

  noun

  an estimate of British government expenditures and revenues and the financial plans for the ensuing fiscal year presented annually to the House of Commons by the Chancellor of the Exchequer

budget

American  

[buhj-it] / ˈbʌdʒ ɪt /

noun

• budgets
  plural

1. an estimate, often itemized, of expected income and expense for a given period in the future.

2. a plan of operations based on such an estimate.

3. an itemized allotment of funds, time, etc., for a given period.

4. the total sum of money set aside or needed for a purpose.

   the construction budget.

5. a limited stock or supply of something.

   his budget of goodwill.

6. Obsolete. a small bag; pouch.

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adjective

1. reasonably or cheaply priced.

   budget dresses.

verb (used with object)

• budgets,
  present (3rd person singular)
• budgeted,
  past participle,  past
• budgeting
  present participle

1. to plan allotment of (funds, time, etc.).

2. to deal with (specific funds) in a budget.

verb (used without object)

• budgets,
  present (3rd person singular)
• budgeted,
  past participle,  past
• budgeting
  present participle

1. to subsist on or live within a budget.

budget ¹ British  

/ ˈbʌdʒɪt /

noun

1. an itemized summary of expected income and expenditure of a country, company, etc, over a specified period, usually a financial year

2. an estimate of income and a plan for domestic expenditure of an individual or a family, often over a short period, such as a month or a week

3. a restriction on expenditure (esp in the phrase on a budget )

4. (modifier) economical; inexpensive

   budget meals for a family

5. the total amount of money allocated for a specific purpose during a specified period

6. archaic a stock, quantity, or supply

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verb

1. (tr) to enter or provide for in a budget

2. to plan the expenditure of (money, time, etc)

3. (intr) to make a budget

Budget ² British  

/ ˈbʌdʒɪt /

noun

1. an estimate of British government expenditures and revenues and the financial plans for the ensuing fiscal year presented annually to the House of Commons by the Chancellor of the Exchequer

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• budgeter
  noun
• prebudget
  noun
• rebudget
  verb (used with object)
• budgetary
  adjective
• nonbudgetary
  adjective
• prebudgetary
  adjective
• pro-budgeting
  adjective
• unbudgeted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• budgets
  plural

Participles

• budgeting
  present
• budgeted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• budget
  simple
• budgets
  simple
• have budgeted
  perfect
• has budgeted
  perfect
• am budgeting
  progressive
• are budgeting
  progressive
• is budgeting
  progressive
• have been budgeting
  perfect progressive
• has been budgeting
  perfect progressive

Past

• budgeted
  simple
• had budgeted
  perfect
• was budgeting
  progressive
• were budgeting
  progressive
• had been budgeting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will budget
  simple
• will have budgeted
  perfect
• will be budgeting
  progressive
• will have been budgeting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of budget

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English bowgett, from Middle French, bougette, from bouge “bag” (from Latin bulga; see bulge) + -ette -ette )

Explanation

A budget is a sum of money set aside and divided up to cover particular expenses. Like allotting certain amounts for food, rent, movies, and manicures every month to make sure you don't run out of cash. From the Middle French bougette, the noun budget translated to “leather pouch” when it was first used in the early 15th century. Perhaps a leather pouch to hold gold coins? It wasn’t until 1733 that the word took on the more specific financial meaning it has nowadays. You can budget all sorts of things, including time, money, and energy. Every year, Congress tries to balance the federal budget — but that's no easy task.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

budget Budget budgets budgeted budgeting

Speaking ahead of Burnham's visit, First Minister Michelle O'Neill called for a "fair budget settlement that actually works for public services".

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

The Space Force budget request for fiscal 2027 included $2.2 billion to invest in launch infrastructure.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

“The first draft was hilarious . . . but it was 210 pages and would have cost $80 million . . . instead we spent $43 and the rest of the budget ‘vanished’ .

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

"We need a budget proposal with cuts in all areas adding up to several hundred billion euros," Merz said then.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

The discussions over the school budget sounded much like a couple talking around their kitchen table with a stack of bills, no hope of paying them and nothing but bad options.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

Ashley said the High Street will be "further devastated" without major reforms, and warned Burnham's suggestion he will consider further business rates changes in the coming Budget are "too little, too late".

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

In order to understand what is happening in the bond market, you need to look at table 1.1 in the latest “Budget and Economic Outlook” from the independent Congressional Budget Office.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026

The federal budget deficit is expected to reach $2.1 trillion in fiscal year 2026, or around 6% of gross domestic product, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

The government borrowed slightly more than expected in July, according to figures published as Chancellor John Healey draws up his first Budget.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

The Budget Lodging clerk, who seems to have some familiarity with the housing nightmares of low-wage workers, suggests I keep trying motels.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

Unlike the federal government, states generally must balance their budgets annually.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026

"This is simply the shuffling around of existing departmental budgets," they added.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

That makes family budgets even tighter going into the new school year.

From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026

People who run service orgs with low budgets and benefited for years from Microsoft’s programs no longer have much of the technology they need to keep things going—for either the short or long term.

From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026

He began lobbying officials there to include the various second-line antibiotics on their list of “essential drugs”—a list that the ministries followed and allocated money for in their budgets.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

It’s budgeted, capped, and it doesn’t touch retirement contributions or emergency savings.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

Each of these programs went years past their original delivery deadlines and cost far more than originally budgeted.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026

“I think we’ve budgeted for more than enough,” van Regteren said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

Jamie's budgeted for dates in the past and would "think about where I could make savings elsewhere that week be it from my food or transport budget"

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026

Speaker Day featured two speakers—usually small-time celebrities or small-time politicians or small-time academics, the kind of people who would come and speak at a school for the measly three hundred bucks the school budgeted.

From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green

If you have worked in the world of defense budgeting, spending or contracting, we’d like to hear from you.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026

His original zero-based budgeting message had pillars like “give every dollar a job,” and was outlined in 2017’s “You Need a Budget,” a Wall Street Journal bestseller.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

Under the updated rules, associations budgeting less than 15% can still qualify if a reserve study supports it—provided the budget includes the study’s highest recommended reserve allocation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

Parents have said a school uniform pop-up has helped ease the stress of budgeting for the new term.

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026

When I say run a company, I mean keeping track of inventory, staying in touch with customers, recruiting, project management, product development, scheduling, budgeting, and human resources.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman

Related Words

• account
• allocation
• cost
• total