Meaning & use
deficit
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountablefinance
The amount by which money spent is greater than money received, over a period.
Grammar: Countable: a deficit, large deficits.
Patterns
- a deficit of something
- run a deficit
The city ran a deficit of two million dollars last year.
The trade deficit widened as imports rose.
The school faces a budget deficit this spring.
nouncountable
A shortage or lack of something needed, such as skills, sleep or attention.
Grammar: Often followed by in: a deficit in skills.
Patterns
- a deficit in something
- a deficit of something
Teachers noted a deficit in basic reading skills.
Years of poor sleep left her with a memory deficit.
The region has a deficit of trained nurses.
nouncountablesport
In sports, the number of points or goals by which a team is behind.
Grammar: Used with overcome, trail or erase: overcome a deficit.
Patterns
- a deficit of something points
- overcome a deficit
The team erased a ten-point deficit in the final quarter.
They overcame a two-goal deficit at halftime.
A deficit that large is hard to recover from.
Word forms
| plural | deficits |
|---|
Common combinations
- budget deficit
- The government plans to reduce the budget deficit.
- trade deficit
- The trade deficit grew last quarter.
- run a deficit
- Many states run a deficit during a downturn.
- cut the deficit
- Lawmakers promised to cut the deficit.
- attention deficit
- He was tested for an attention deficit.
- close the deficit
- They hope to close the deficit within two years.
Synonyms and how they differ
- shortfall
- Shortfall is the amount missing from a target and is less strictly financial than deficit.
- shortage
- Shortage is about not having enough of a thing, while deficit is a measured gap.
- gap
- Gap is general and informal; deficit is more official.
- loss
- Loss is a result of trading badly over time, while deficit compares spending with income.
Opposites
Word family
- deficient adjective
- not having enough of something
- deficiency noun
- a lack of something essential
- deficit-ridden adjective
- burdened by large deficits
Commonly confused: deficit or defect? deficit or deficiency?
deficit vs defect
A defect is a flaw in something; a deficit is a shortfall in an amount.
deficit vs deficiency
Deficiency is a lack of something needed, such as vitamins, whereas deficit often measures money.
Practice
The government spent more than it collected, creating a budget ______.
Choose one answer.
Spending more than income produces a deficit. A surplus is the opposite.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “deficit”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.