deficit
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
the amount of money by which a government's or company's spending is higher than its income.
the amount by which a sum of money falls short of the required amount; specifically, the excess of liabilities over assets or expenditures over income.
Simple“The government is trying to reduce the national deficit by cutting spending.”
In context“Economists warned that a persistent trade deficit could weaken the national currency and lead to higher interest rates in the long term.”
UsageOften used with 'budget', 'trade', or 'national'.
- 02 C1 Advanced
a lack of a particular quality, skill, or ability.
a deficiency in amount, quality, or degree; frequently used in medical or psychological contexts to describe impaired function.
Simple“The child was diagnosed with an attention deficit that made it hard to focus in class.”
In context“The patient showed a significant cognitive deficit following the injury, particularly in tasks requiring short-term memory and spatial reasoning.”
UsageCommonly appears in the phrase 'attention deficit' or 'oxygen deficit'.
Synonyms
“Image caption, Long-term borrowing costs hit multi-decade highs on Tuesday, according to the Financial Times as it reports fears over inflation and fiscal deficits is pushing pressure on government debt around the globe.”
“Parents who view their autistic children through a deficit lens may be more likely to pursue ineffective and dangerous pseudoscientific treatments.”
From French déficit, from Latin dēficit.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.