red ink
Americannoun
-
a financial deficit; business loss.
-
the condition of showing a business loss.
Etymology
Origin of red ink
An Americanism dating back to 1925–30
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.
At least one image captures a tattoo of the name “David” in red ink on Hernandez’s finger.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
For example, the word "red" might appear in red ink.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 10, 2026
Quantinuum lost $192.6 million in 2025, compared with red ink of $144.1 million in 2024.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
Screenshots the student then shared appeared to show manual marking in red ink, unlike the green tick marks used in the digital evaluation system.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
It was tight but no red ink yet, as Uncle Holt would say.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
