budget deficit

British

noun

the amount by which government expenditure exceeds income from taxation, customs duties, etc, in any one fiscal year

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Tariff refunds are expected to slow U.S. budget deficit improvement, which saw a 10% cash increase from October to March.

From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026

Some argue that concerns about the budget deficit are also propping up Treasury yields.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026

Treasurys is rapidly deteriorating as the nation’s budget deficit balloons and demand from global investors weakens.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 17, 2026

And the state of the city’s budget deficit is more dire than it was when previous pied-à-terre tax efforts failed.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

Through knowledge, political will, and perhaps some luck, we seem to have tamed inflation and the budget deficit.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023