deleveraging

American  

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

noun

1. the act or process of paying off or reducing debt; a decreasing of financial leverage.

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Etymology

Origin of deleveraging

First recorded in 1975–80; de- ( def. ) + leveraging ( def. )

Example Sentences

There’s a clean path for U.S. stocks next month to advance after massive institutional deleveraging, according to a report from Goldman Sachs trading desk team.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 27, 2026

“Mobico will need to continue to execute to deliver growth, cash-flow generation and deleveraging, given leverage remains elevated, to drive a rerating from current levels,” Berenberg says.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

A spiral of illiquidity, forced selling, markdowns and deleveraging could emerge — amplified by opacity and rapidly fading trust.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 26, 2026

The sell-off has been intensified by forced deleveraging, as investors who borrowed money to bet on bitcoin's rise are forced to sell when losses mount, pushing prices lower.

From Barron's • Feb. 6, 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