Meaning & use
being in the black
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Meaning
phraseidiominformalbusiness
Having a positive balance, meaning a company or person has more money than debts or is making a profit.
Grammar: Often 'be in the black': the business is in the black.
Patterns
- be in the black
- stay in the black
- return to the black
Being in the black for the first time gave the small bakery real relief.
After two hard years, being in the black meant they could hire again.
Being in the black every month is the goal for any new business.
Common combinations
- back in the black
- The airline is back in the black this quarter.
- stay in the black
- We cut costs to stay in the black.
- finally in the black
- The startup was finally in the black after three years.
- move into the black
- The company moved into the black last spring.
- keep the account in the black
- She keeps her account in the black by budgeting.
Synonyms and how they differ
- solvent
- Solvent is a formal adjective for being able to pay debts, while in the black is a casual idiom that also implies profit.
- profitable
- Profitable describes making money from activity, while in the black can describe a bank balance too.
- in credit
- In credit is mainly British and applies to bank accounts, while in the black covers businesses broadly.
Opposites
Word family
- black adjective
- the color of the ink used for positive figures
- in the red phrase
- having debts or losing money
- profit noun
- money gained after costs
Commonly confused: being in the black or in the red?
being in the black vs in the red
In the red is the opposite: it means owing more than you own, with red ink showing losses.
Practice
Our store has been ____ since spring, so we finally have some profit to reinvest.
Choose one answer.
'In the black' means making a profit. 'In the red' means losing money, which is the tempting but opposite choice.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “being in the black”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.