Dictionary.com
definitions

red ink

See more synonyms for red ink on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a financial deficit; business loss.
  2. the condition of showing a business loss.

Origin of red ink

An Americanism dating back to 1925–30
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for red ink

loss, flaw, lack, deficiency, shortcoming, shortage, bill, commitment, mortgage, indebtedness, receipt, damage, due, liability, credit, deficit, capital, obligation, arrears, shortfall

Examples from the Web for red ink

Historical Examples of red ink

  • The place where young Lee missed your head with the red-ink bottle.

  • Put up a map of the Midlands, with a red-ink line round every affiliated dept.

    The War-Workers

    E.M. Delafield

  • Whereupon the lady secretary put a red-ink cross before Harmony's name.

    The Street of Seven Stars

    Mary Roberts Rinehart

  • One kind was a red-ink seal, made with a hand stamp; the other a seal on blue paper, to be fastened on the article.

  • Enough for Willem and me to buy all the red-ink lemonade and popcorn and peanuts and candy we can eat.

Word Origin and History for red ink
n.

"financial losses," 1929, from the red ink traditionally used to indicate debits in accounts.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper