1
chiefly dialectal
: a usually leather pouch, wallet, or pack
also
: its contents
3
: a quantity (as of energy or water) involved in, available for, or assignable to a particular situation
the A-bomb … yields its budget of energy … in a fraction of a second—
Scientific American Reader
Scientific American Reader
also
: an account of gains and losses of such a quantity
the global carbon budget
4
finance
a
: a statement of the financial position of an administration (as of a nation) for a definite period of time based on estimates of expenditures during the period and proposals for financing them
b
: a plan for the coordination of resources and expenditures
develop a budget for her company
c
: the amount of money that is available for, required for, or assigned to a particular purpose
a weekly budget for a family of five
a budget of less than $3000
budgeted; budgeting; budgets
1
a
: to put or allow for in a statement or plan coordinating resources and expenditures : to put or allow for in a budget
budgeted $200 a month to pay back student loans
funds budgeted by the administration for the project
b
: to require to adhere to a budget
Budget yourself wisely.
2
a
: to allocate funds for in a budget
budget a new hospital
b
: to plan or provide for the use of in detail
budgeting manpower
Budget your time wisely.
: to put oneself on a budget
budgeting for a vacation
: suitable for someone whose is following a plan for coordinating resources and expenditures : suitable for one on a budget (see budget entry 1) : inexpensive
Synonyms
Examples of budget in a Sentence
Noun
What's the average weekly budget for a family of five?
The film has a million-dollar budget.
He's been trying to live on a budget of less than $1,500 a month.
We'll have to work out a budget so we can buy a new car.
Verb
They budgeted millions of dollars to make the film.
The project is budgeted at more than $100,000.
He budgets $50 for entertainment each month.
If we budget carefully, we will be able to go on the trip.
I need to learn how to budget my time more wisely.
Adjective
a budget phone plan for people on fixed incomes
Recent Examples on the WebHoward Blume, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2024
The taxes are a critical funding source for the entire state budget.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 23 Apr. 2024
Evans’s urge for citizens to use what’s already in the budget is fueled by the uptick in the number of librarians and spaces being vilified for providing historically accurate texts in the book ban era.
—Martie Bowser, Essence, 23 Apr. 2024
Bell said the money is coming from the city's capital project budget.
—Stacy Ryburn, arkansasonline.com, 22 Apr. 2024
Deeply unconventional bands such as Boredoms, Jawbox and Shudder to Think got to play with major-label budgets, members of Screaming Trees and Throwing Muses went solo and even actress Milla Jovovich had an alt-rock hit.
—Al Shipley, SPIN, 21 Apr. 2024
Managing budget constraints will require a focus on seeking funding through grants and partnerships, and engaging legislative leaders to find alternative innovative funding solutions.
—Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Apr. 2024
Another separate item, the city harbor’s operating and capital improvement budget, anticipates $9.5 million in revenue and $9 million in expenditures next year.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Apr. 2024
Oakland is counting on revenue from the sale of the Raiders compound to help patch up a historic budget deficit that is threatening severe cuts to city departments — possibly even layoffs.
—Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 20 Apr. 2024
Jasmine Browley, Essence, 12 Apr. 2024
Staff salaries are budgeted, so the campus already bears the cost of backfilling positions when employees need to take time off, said Daniel Chanen, who leads human resources for the UW System.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 9 Apr. 2024
With all that to budget for, Hellerstein doesn’t have the cash flow to bankroll new additions to his collection, especially in an age where the price of classic ballpark artifacts is at an all-time high.
—Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, 7 Apr. 2024
The pressures mean Henry can only budget from one week to the next.
—Anna Cooban, CNN, 6 Apr. 2024
Those with large signing bonuses often seek professional advice right away, while lower-round picks look for instruction immediately on how to budget in order to survive.
—Stephen Buxton, The Mercury News, 29 Mar. 2024
Creating a long-term lifestyle plan can help in setting goals and budgeting for non-financial aspects of retirement.
—Jia Rizvi, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
Greta Gerwig’s Barbie won big at the 14th annual Guild of Music Supervisors Awards on Sunday, with the film taking home the awards for best music supervision for a film budgeted over $25 million, and best song written and/or recorded for a film.
—Beatrice Verhoeven, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Mar. 2024
Originally budgeted at $34.9 million, that leg will jut off the starter line at Third Street and Grand Boulevard in the River Market, then head north over the Grand Boulevard viaduct and east to within a five-minute walk of the stadium, stopping at the midpoint of Berkley Riverfront Park.
—Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 30 Mar. 2024
Jessica Poitevien, Travel + Leisure, 4 Nov. 2021
On Friday, Jean-Jacques Annaud’s disaster drama Notre-Dame on Fire opens opposite Japanese rock opera anime Inu-Oh, directed by Masaaki Yuasa, as well as several mid-budget Chinese releases.
—Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Apr. 2023
Of course, there's something else that will forever link these mid-budget American triumphs, and that's when and where they were made: Portions of No Country for Old Men and There Will Blood were shot concurrently in the same place, the tiny desert town of Marfa, Texas, on the same dates in 2006.
—A.a. Dowd, Chron, 10 Mar. 2023
Although his turn into action is often the butt of jokes, the vast majority of these projects are quality, mid-budget adult thrillers that are sorely lacking in the multiplex nowadays.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 17 Feb. 2023
Last month it was revealed that the mid-budget Western movie would continue with its production.
—Marco Della Cava, USA TODAY, 9 Feb. 2023
As the rom com got further and further buried under capes and spandex and piles of money, so did the mid-budget Austen adaptations, with a few exceptions.
—Carrie Wittmer, Vulture, 18 July 2022
But Nelson has more on his mind as his characters navigate the rapidly shifting entertainment landscape, amid the rise of streaming and the fall of the mid-budget drama.
—Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 7 Feb. 2023
Turns out everyone thought the perfect thing to pair with Thanksgiving turkey was a mid-budget mystery with a superstar cast and a potentially gay detective.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 29 Nov. 2022
Noun
The police budget has crept upward since — due to districtwide salary increases and other higher costs — which angered activists who accuse the board of backtracking from commitments to phase out police.
—Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2024
The taxes are a critical funding source for the entire state budget.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 23 Apr. 2024
Evans’s urge for citizens to use what’s already in the budget is fueled by the uptick in the number of librarians and spaces being vilified for providing historically accurate texts in the book ban era.
—Martie Bowser, Essence, 23 Apr. 2024
Bell said the money is coming from the city's capital project budget.
—Stacy Ryburn, arkansasonline.com, 22 Apr. 2024
Deeply unconventional bands such as Boredoms, Jawbox and Shudder to Think got to play with major-label budgets, members of Screaming Trees and Throwing Muses went solo and even actress Milla Jovovich had an alt-rock hit.
—Al Shipley, SPIN, 21 Apr. 2024
Managing budget constraints will require a focus on seeking funding through grants and partnerships, and engaging legislative leaders to find alternative innovative funding solutions.
—Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Apr. 2024
Another separate item, the city harbor’s operating and capital improvement budget, anticipates $9.5 million in revenue and $9 million in expenditures next year.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Apr. 2024
Oakland is counting on revenue from the sale of the Raiders compound to help patch up a historic budget deficit that is threatening severe cuts to city departments — possibly even layoffs.
—Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 20 Apr. 2024
Verb
Fortunately there is a way to budget your way into financial freedom.
—Jasmine Browley, Essence, 12 Apr. 2024
Staff salaries are budgeted, so the campus already bears the cost of backfilling positions when employees need to take time off, said Daniel Chanen, who leads human resources for the UW System.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 9 Apr. 2024
With all that to budget for, Hellerstein doesn’t have the cash flow to bankroll new additions to his collection, especially in an age where the price of classic ballpark artifacts is at an all-time high.
—Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, 7 Apr. 2024
The pressures mean Henry can only budget from one week to the next.
—Anna Cooban, CNN, 6 Apr. 2024
Those with large signing bonuses often seek professional advice right away, while lower-round picks look for instruction immediately on how to budget in order to survive.
—Stephen Buxton, The Mercury News, 29 Mar. 2024
Creating a long-term lifestyle plan can help in setting goals and budgeting for non-financial aspects of retirement.
—Jia Rizvi, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
Greta Gerwig’s Barbie won big at the 14th annual Guild of Music Supervisors Awards on Sunday, with the film taking home the awards for best music supervision for a film budgeted over $25 million, and best song written and/or recorded for a film.
—Beatrice Verhoeven, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Mar. 2024
Originally budgeted at $34.9 million, that leg will jut off the starter line at Third Street and Grand Boulevard in the River Market, then head north over the Grand Boulevard viaduct and east to within a five-minute walk of the stadium, stopping at the midpoint of Berkley Riverfront Park.
—Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 30 Mar. 2024
Adjective
In terms of airlines, the top five carriers with the most delays were a mix of budget and non-budget airlines.
—Jessica Poitevien, Travel + Leisure, 4 Nov. 2021
On Friday, Jean-Jacques Annaud’s disaster drama Notre-Dame on Fire opens opposite Japanese rock opera anime Inu-Oh, directed by Masaaki Yuasa, as well as several mid-budget Chinese releases.
—Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Apr. 2023
Of course, there's something else that will forever link these mid-budget American triumphs, and that's when and where they were made: Portions of No Country for Old Men and There Will Blood were shot concurrently in the same place, the tiny desert town of Marfa, Texas, on the same dates in 2006.
—A.a. Dowd, Chron, 10 Mar. 2023
Although his turn into action is often the butt of jokes, the vast majority of these projects are quality, mid-budget adult thrillers that are sorely lacking in the multiplex nowadays.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 17 Feb. 2023
Last month it was revealed that the mid-budget Western movie would continue with its production.
—Marco Della Cava, USA TODAY, 9 Feb. 2023
As the rom com got further and further buried under capes and spandex and piles of money, so did the mid-budget Austen adaptations, with a few exceptions.
—Carrie Wittmer, Vulture, 18 July 2022
But Nelson has more on his mind as his characters navigate the rapidly shifting entertainment landscape, amid the rise of streaming and the fall of the mid-budget drama.
—Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 7 Feb. 2023
Turns out everyone thought the perfect thing to pair with Thanksgiving turkey was a mid-budget mystery with a superstar cast and a potentially gay detective.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 29 Nov. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'budget.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near budget
Cite this Entry
“Budget.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/budget. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
budget
1 of 2 noun
bud·get
ˈbəj-ət 
2
a
: a statement of estimated income and expenses
b
: a plan for using money
c
: the amount of money available for some purpose
budget
2 of 2 verb1
: to put on or in a budget
budget $50 for entertainment
2
: to provide funds for in a budget
budget a new car
3
: to plan the use of
budget one's time
Etymology
Noun
Middle English bowgette "small leather pouch," derived from early French bouge "leather bag," from Latin bulga "leather bag" — related to bulge
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