deficit Hear it!

deficit definition

defi·cit (def′ə sit)

noun

the amount by which a sum of money is less than the required amount; specif., an excess of liabilities over assets, of losses over profits, or of expenditure over income

Etymology: L, there is lacking, 3d pers. sing., pres. indic., of deficere (see deficiency): from use as first word in inventory clauses

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

business deficit definition - business

finance deficit definition - finance

medical deficit definition - medical

deficit Synonyms

deficit

n.

shortage, paucity, deficiency, shortfall; see debt 1, lack 2.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

deficit Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • overturn: Reading bettered this comeback on Sunday, overturning a 2-0 half time deficit, to overcome Germany's Club an der Alster 4-3.

Preposition: in

  • middle-term: In the final analysis, energy security means the worldwide energy deficit in the middle-term.

Adjective modifier

  • neurological: Despite shunting many of these patients have major neurological deficits which are linked to abnormal development of the cerebral cortex in the fetus.

Modifies a noun

  • hyperactivity: Abstract: Some previous studies have linked attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) with a bias in spatial awareness away from the left.

Noun used with modifier

  • attention: My poor progress in mathematics was largely a result of my attention deficit.
deficit usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

deficit quotes

The mystery is why we even collect these figures; if we kept similar statistics for Manhattan Island,Park Avenue could layawake at night worrying about its trade deficit.

-Bartley, Robert Leroy

The Montreal Olympics can no more have a deficit than a man can have a baby.

-Drapeau,Jean

deficit quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Link to this page:

Cite this page:

MLA Style

"deficit." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/deficit>

APA Style

deficit. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/deficit

Comments:

Please or Register to post a comment