deficit

noun

def·​i·​cit ˈde-fə-sət 

 British also  di-ˈfi-sət,

 or  ˈdē-fə-sət

1

a(1)

: deficiency in amount or quality

a deficit in rainfall

(2)

: a lack or impairment in an ability or functional capacity

cognitive deficits

a hearing deficit

b

: disadvantage

scored two runs to overcome a 2–1 deficit

2

a

: an excess of expenditure over revenue

facing a deficit of $3 billion

raise taxes to help reduce the budget deficit

b

: a loss (see loss sense 4b) in business operations

the year's operating deficit

Synonyms

• crunch
• dearth
• deficiency
• drought
• drouth
• failure
• famine
• inadequacy
• inadequateness
• insufficiency
• lack
• lacuna
• paucity
• pinch
• poverty
• scantiness
• scarceness
• scarcity
• shortage
• undersupply
• want

Examples of deficit in a Sentence

The government is facing a deficit of $3 billion.

We will reduce the federal budget deficit.

The team overcame a four-point deficit to win the game.

She has a slight hearing deficit in her left ear.

Recent Examples on the Web

As of March 31, 2024, Eline Entertainment Group, Inc. had no cash and a working capital deficit of $62,932. —Quartz Intelligence Newsroom, Quartz, 24 Jan. 2025

And the region is rapidly running out of time to catch up on the severe deficit in rainfall before the winter rainy season ends. —Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 24 Jan. 2025

The deficit stood at nearly $308 billion in 2020 — Trump’s last full year in office in his previous tenure. —Anniek Bao,evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 24 Jan. 2025

While that did give the economy a boost, raising wages and productivity, the benefits were not nearly enough to offset the losses in tax revenue that have widened the US deficit, according to an analysis from Chicago’s Booth School of Business. —David Goldman, CNN, 23 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French déficit, going back to Middle French, "item lacking in an inventory," borrowed from Latin dēficit "it is lacking," 3rd person singular present indicative of dēficere "to be lacking, run short, fail" — more at deficient

First Known Use

1782, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Phrases Containing deficit

• attention deficit disorder
• attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
• deficit spending
• trade deficit

Kids Definition

deficit

noun

def·​i·​cit ˈdef-ə-sət 

: a deficiency in amount

especially : an excess of expenses over income

Medical Definition

deficit

noun

de·​fi·​cit

ˈdef-(ə-)sət; British also di-ˈfis-ət, ˈdē-fə-sət

: a deficiency of a substance

a potassium deficit

also : a lack or impairment of a functional capacity

cognitive deficits