deficit C1 Topic:Numbers & Quantity Also spelled deffersit, deffersits, and deffisit US /ˈdɛfəsɪt/ UK /ˈdɛfɪsɪt/ See IPA manual Freq #18195 Meanings 1 noun The amount by which spending is greater than the money coming in. The government is trying to reduce the budget deficit. 2 noun The amount by which something falls short of what is needed or expected. There was a serious deficit in rainfall this year. 3 noun In sports, the number of points by which a team or player is behind. The team fought back from a ten-point deficit to win. Thesaurus Synonyms 2 noun · the amount by which... shortfall ↔ Opposites surplus Word family Forms deficits Derived forms antideficitneurodeficitnondeficit Related forms defectdefectiondefectivedefectordeficiencydeficient Common collocations deficit spending Noun + noun Etymology AI details From French déficit, from Latin dēficit. Related to defect. *dʰeh₁- Proto-Indo-European déficit French dēficit Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Numbers & Quantity Sports & Fitness External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # deficit **Type:** Word **Level:** C1 **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈdɛfəsɪt/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈdɛfɪsɪt/ **Frequency rank:** 18195 ## Meanings 1. The amount by which spending is greater than the money coming in. 2. The amount by which something falls short of what is needed or expected. 3. In sports, the number of points by which a team or player is behind. ## Examples - The government is trying to reduce the budget deficit. - There was a serious deficit in rainfall this year. - The team fought back from a ten-point deficit to win. ## Synonyms - shortfall ## Antonyms - surplus ## Derived Forms - antideficit - neurodeficit - nondeficit ## Related Forms - defect - defection - defective - defector - deficiency - deficient ## Roots and Affixes - Root: *dʰeh₁- - Root: déficit - Root: dēficit ## Etymology From French déficit, from Latin dēficit. Related to defect. ## AI Etymology deficit comes from French déficit, from Latin dēficit. Related to defect. The historical chain includes Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-, French déficit, Latin dēficit. Current senses include The amount by which spending is greater than the money coming in and The amount by which something falls short of what is needed or expected. English relatives and later formations include antideficit, neurodeficit, nondeficit, defect, defection. ## Topics - Numbers & Quantity - Sports & Fitness markdown