red ink
Americannoun
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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.
They produced a lot of red ink in the company’s portfolio last year, as Occidental’s stock slumped.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 16, 2026
The company attributed most of the flood of red ink to “loss from investments,” of which more in a moment.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2026
More significantly, doubt is creeping in about how long America’s markets will remain exceptional—stocks that trade at a premium and bonds that stay buoyant despite no end in sight to government red ink.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 28, 2026
Reality Labs, the division created to power that alternative universe, lost $4.4 billion last quarter, taking its cumulative red ink past $70 billion in less than five years.
From Barron's • Oct. 30, 2025
I take a slow sip of lukewarm coffee, reopen the book, and read the words scribbled in red ink near the top: Everyone needs an olly-olly-oxen-free.
From "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher
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.
