From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdeficitdef‧i‧cit /ˈdefɪsɪt/ ●○○ noun [countable] NOT HAVEthe difference between the amount of something that you have and the higher amount that you need → shortfall the country’s widening budget deficit the US’s foreign trade deficitdeficit of a deficit of £2.5 milliondeficit in Many countries have a big deficit in food supply.in deficit The US balance of payments was in deficit.COLLOCATIONSADJECTIVES/NOUN + deficit huge/massive (=very big)The recession left the Government with a massive deficit.a growing deficit (=becoming bigger)Congress must slash federal spending to curb a growing deficit.a budget deficitLast year there was a budget deficit of US $70,000,000.a trade deficit (=the difference between the amount of goods a country imports and the amount it exports)Last year the country had its largest trade deficit in recent history.verbshave a deficitWe had a trade deficit of more than $4 billion.show a deficitFriday's trade figures showed a £10 billion deficit.face a deficitThe party is facing a deficit of £1.3million for this year, so it must find ways of cutting its costs.reduce/cut a deficitWe must drastically cut our budget deficit to sustain economic growth.eliminate a deficit (=completely get rid of it)His proposals have so far failed to eliminate the deficit.
Examples from the Corpus
deficit• If government does nothing, deficits expand rapidly.• The balances on their operating statements can not be called profits or losses, rather they are called surpluses or deficits.• The Chargers overcame a 13-point deficit to win 38-30.• But a spiraling deficit and weakened franc forced him to adopt austerity policies in 1983.• Quinn explains that spending on roads and other infrastructure accounts for most of the deficit.• Dole himself voted for tax hikes in 1982 and 1990 to reduce the deficit.• These are the arctic fox and hen harrier assemblages, and there are three factors that suggest this deficit may be significant.• The campaign also argues that Britain's trade deficit is unsustainable.budget deficit• Tax increases were introduced on a wide range of goods and services to help alleviate the projected budget deficit.• That and the high price of oil have rekindled inflation and widened the government's budget deficit.• The main cause of inflation was the overall public-sector budget deficit.• Nor can it be generated by easier fiscal policy because the budget deficit is already so high.• But pressure to eliminate the budget deficit, said Vest, is likely to lead to diminished help from Washington.• To keep the budget deficit down, the government proposed to sell off shares and property valued at around 1,000 million kroner.• With anticipated revenue of taka105,500 million, the budget deficit would be taka77,300 million.From Longman Business Dictionarydeficitdef‧i‧cit /ˈdefɪsɪt/ written abbreviation def noun [countable]1COMMERCEan amount of money that a business has lost in a particular period of timeLast year the university ran up a deficit of £17 million, but this year it has nearly succeeded in balancing the books.2ECONOMICS an amount by which the money that a government spends is more than it receives in tax in a particular periodThe budget did less to reduce public spending and the deficit than many bankers and businessmen would have liked.The balance of payments was in deficit in 2000 and 2001, and in surplus in 2002 and 2003. → balance of payments deficit → budget deficit → current account deficit → federal deficit → trade deficitOrigin deficit (1700-1800) French déficit, from Latin deficit “it lacks”, from deficere; → DEFECT1 