Word
NSF
Phoneticsnsf
Definition
n. Stands for Not Sufficient Funds. A message from a bank that says there is not enough money in an account to pay for a check or a purchase.
n. Abbreviation for Not Sufficient Funds. A banking status indicating that a checking account does not have enough available balance to cover a presented check or electronic debit.
Examples
“The bank returned the check because of NSF.”
“I had to pay a thirty-dollar fee to the store after my payment was declined for NSF.”
“Automated clearing house transactions may be retried up to two times following an initial NSF notification before the merchant must seek an alternative method of payment from the customer.”
Examples
simple
“The bank returned the check because of NSF.”
contextual
“I had to pay a thirty-dollar fee to the store after my payment was declined for NSF.”
complex
“Automated clearing house transactions may be retried up to two times following an initial NSF notification before the merchant must seek an alternative method of payment from the customer.”
Usage
Commonly used as a noun adjunct in phrases like 'NSF fee' or 'NSF check'.
Pitfall
I have an NSF in my account
I have an NSF fee on my account
NSF describes the status of the funds, not the account itself; learners often use it to mean the penalty fee.
Real-World Examples
Common in science writing
“Julien (my co-director) and I are struggling to get ongoing National Science Foundation support as the NSF is reallocating funds from "the environment" and "life sciences" to AI research.” “National Science Foundation (NSF), and numerous international agencies and organizations listed in the scientific paper.” Domains
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/nsf