[def-uh-sit; Brit. also di-fis-it] 
| 1. | the amount by which a sum of money falls short of the required amount. |
| 2. | the amount by which expenditures or liabilities exceed income or assets. |
| 3. | a lack or shortage; deficiency. |
| 4. | a disadvantage, impairment, or handicap: The team's major deficit is its poor pitching. |
| 5. | a loss, as in the operation of a business. |
| def·i·cit (děf'ĭ-sĭt) n.
[French déficit, from Latin dēficit, it is lacking, third person sing. present tense of dēficere, to fail, be lacking; see defect.] |
A shortage, especially the amount by which a sum of money falls short of what is required; a debt.
Deficit
A situation in which liabilities exceed assets, expenditures exceed income, imports exceed exports, or losses exceed profits.
Investopedia Commentary
A deficit is the opposite of a surplus. If a country imports more than it exports, it is said to have a trade deficit. Many scholars feel that a trade deficit can not be sustained in perpetuity.
Related Links
Understanding The Capital And Financial Accounts In The Balance Of Payments
What Is The Balance Of Payments?
Current Account Deficits
See also: Asset, Income, Liability, Perpetuity, Profit, Surplus
deficit
A negative retained earnings balance. A deficit results when the accumulated losses and dividend payments of a business exceed its earnings.
See operating loss.
deficit def·i·cit (děf'ĭ-sĭt)
n.
A lack or deficiency of a substance.
A lack or impairment in mental or physical functioning.
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