SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
deficit
noun
An amount by which something falls short of what is needed or expected.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Amount of shortage
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topA negative balance is a specific financial instance; deficit is broader than debt.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See deficit in use
The club covered its small budget deficit with proceeds from a book sale.
Mira's student team wanted to record an entire audio drama in one weekend, but only a shorter episode was feasible with the room and equipment available. Their allocation of studio time gave each actor an hour, leaving no space for retakes. That created a deficit of recording hours before anyone had even arrived.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license