- deficit
- An excess of liabilities ( liability) over assets, of losses over profits, or of expenditure over income. Bloomberg Financial Dictionary————A situation in which a country has a negative balance of trade or payments. Chicago Mercantile Exchange Glossary
* * *
deficit def‧i‧cit [ˈdefst] written abbreviation def noun [countable]1. COMMERCE an amount of money that a business has lost in a particular period of time:• Last year the university ran up a deficit of £17 million, but this year it has nearly succeeded in balancing the books.
2. ECONOMICS an amount by which the money that a government spends is more than it receives in tax in a particular period:• The budget did less to reduce public spending and the deficit than many bankers and businessmen would have liked.
• The balance of payments was in deficit in 2000 and 2001, and in surplus in 2002 and 2003.
ˌbalance of ˈpayments ˌdeficit ECONOMICSthe amount by which money going out of a country is more than the amount coming in:• The US balance of payments deficit was then 5.5 per cent of GDP.
ˈbudget ˌdeficit ECONOMICSthe amount by which what a government spends is more than it receives in taxes or other income, during a particular period of time:• Any savings on military spending should be used to reduce the budget deficit.
the amount by which money relating to trade, investment etc going out of a country is more than the amount coming in:• The current account deficit is amazingly large, averaging 4.4% of gross domestic product.
ˈfederal ˌdeficit ECONOMICSthe amount by which US government spending is greater than the money it receives from taxes in a particular year:• The federal government is receiving record tax revenues, and the federal deficit is now running 14% smaller than last year.
the amount by which the money going out of a country to pay for imports is more than the amount coming in from exports:• According to US trade statistics, the US has been running a trade deficit with Central America.
* * *
The difference when expenditure is greater than income. Opposite of surplus.► See also Surplus.* * *
deficit UK US /ˈdefɪsɪt/ noun [C]► ECONOMICS, FINANCE the total amount by which money spent by a business or government is more than the money it receives: a deficit of £10 million/$1 billion, etc. »The two companies between them have reported a deficit of nearly $14bn.
have/run/show a deficit »About a third of the nation's non-profit arts presenters run a large deficit each year, according to Charity Navigator.
»reduce/cut a deficit
»federal/government/public deficit
»The US balance of payments deficit was running at over 4% of gross domestic product.
► the amount by which something, especially an amount of money, is smaller than it should be: »a pension/pension fund deficit
a deficit in sth »The company reported that an estimated $31.5 million deficit in this year's operating budget would end up at about $20 million as a result of savings.
»There is a deficit of trust between the customer and the banks, which yesterday's headline figure will do little to dispel.
→ See also BUDGET DEFICIT(Cf. ↑budget deficit), CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT(Cf. ↑current account deficit), EXTERNAL DEFICIT(Cf. ↑external deficit), TRADE DEFICIT(Cf. ↑trade deficit)
Financial and business terms. 2012.
