as in shortage
a falling short of an essential or desirable amount or number
a growing deficit in the number of hours devoted to sleep
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Recent Examples of deficit
The cuts to Medicaid are expected to partially offset the cost of the president's priorities, which will add more than $3 trillion to the nation's deficit, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
—
Phil Galewitz, NPR, 9 Sep. 2025
Overspending can lead to overdraft fees, required loans to compensate for the deficit, and possible ongoing financial hurdles.
—Mary Luquette, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2025
Build Your Trust Strategy Building transparent relationships with customers will help overcome the public trust deficit and ensure a company is not reliant on regulatory bodies for its credibility.
—Matt Lowe, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Quarterback Austin Simmons threw for 235 yards as the Rebels overcame a 10-0 deficit.
—Arkansas Online, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deficit
Phil Galewitz, NPR, 9 Sep. 2025
Overspending can lead to overdraft fees, required loans to compensate for the deficit, and possible ongoing financial hurdles.
—Mary Luquette, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2025
Build Your Trust Strategy Building transparent relationships with customers will help overcome the public trust deficit and ensure a company is not reliant on regulatory bodies for its credibility.
—Matt Lowe, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Quarterback Austin Simmons threw for 235 yards as the Rebels overcame a 10-0 deficit.
—Arkansas Online, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deficit
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deficit
Noun
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The 2021 Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack shut down the largest refined products pipeline in the United States for several days, creating fuel shortages and demonstrating how OT disruptions cascade through the economy.—
Bob Ackerman,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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In a decade that some critics believe has a shortage of newness and invention, slop is one of the few frontiers that’s actively being pushed.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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And the noticeable dips also don’t come for the generations of players who would be expecting to play their peak years for England during wartime either — note the lack of games in the 1940s in the earlier graph.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
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The lack of winning has been exactly the problem during the Chuba years at Carolina.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Most people get a sufficient amount of this key vitamin through their diets alone—biotin can be found in beef liver and eggs, and for those without a biotin deficiency, biotin is unlikely to help.—
Brianna Peters,
Vogue,
6 Sep. 2025
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Folate deficiency in a mother increases the risk of neural tube defects including spina bifida, but the link to autism is unclear.—
Jon Hamilton,
NPR,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deficit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deficit. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.
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