red ink

noun

1
: a business loss : deficit
2
: the condition of showing a business loss

Examples of red ink in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Obamacare is rife with inefficiencies and fraud, and the additional subsidies add hundreds of billions in red ink to a federal government already bleeding massive deficits. Arkansas Online, 20 Jan. 2026 Click through that link in the last paragraph, though, and take a gander at all the red ink on his Baseball Savant page. Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2026 After more than five years of gushing red ink, 2025 was the year when streaming across the board started to turn a profit. Dade Hayes, Deadline, 28 Dec. 2025 Throughout California, school districts, cities, counties and other units of local government are facing deficits rooted in the same dynamics that led to red ink in state finances — immense injections of federal relief funds during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dan Walters, Mercury News, 20 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for red ink

Word History

Etymology

from the use of red ink in financial statements to indicate a loss

First Known Use

1926, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of red ink was in 1926

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Red ink.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/red%20ink. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.

Kids Definition

red ink

noun
1
: a business loss
2
: the condition of showing a business loss
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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