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
If the Yankees cannot shrug off the 2-0 series deficit, then Boone could be in hot water, especially with the pair of embarrassing losses to the Blue Jays.
—
Hunter Mulholland, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
And for France, the road ahead promises more of the political uncertainty that is eroding investor confidence in the European Union’s second-largest economy and is frustrating efforts to rein in France’s damaging state deficit and debts.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2025
In emails to Daugaard — and, in at least one case, internally — city officials cited uncertainty created by a looming budget deficit as one of the main reasons for the new marching orders.
—Ashley Hiruko, ProPublica, 6 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile much smaller shares pointed to the federal deficit (6%), immigration (5%) and taxes (2%).
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deficit
Hunter Mulholland, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
And for France, the road ahead promises more of the political uncertainty that is eroding investor confidence in the European Union’s second-largest economy and is frustrating efforts to rein in France’s damaging state deficit and debts.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2025
In emails to Daugaard — and, in at least one case, internally — city officials cited uncertainty created by a looming budget deficit as one of the main reasons for the new marching orders.
—Ashley Hiruko, ProPublica, 6 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile much smaller shares pointed to the federal deficit (6%), immigration (5%) and taxes (2%).
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deficit
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deficit
Noun
-
The federal government officially began a partial shutdown with no last-minute drama or shortage of finger-pointing from Democrats and Republicans, each of whom was content to blame the other for the impasse.—
Lorenzino Estrada,
AZCentral.com,
1 Oct. 2025
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The outbreak was forcing a shortage of eggs as well, leading some grocers to restrict how many dozens of eggs consumers could buy per visit.—
Olivia Evans,
Louisville Courier Journal,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Youths frustrated at a social media ban, corruption and lack of economic opportunities coordinated mass protests via Discord that helped bring down the government.—
Mandy Taheri,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
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If the shutdown drags on, the lack of government data could strain investors’ understanding of the health of the labor market and path of inflation at a time when stocks are historically expensive and vulnerable to a surprise.—
John Towfighi,
CNN Money,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Testosterone replacement therapy is designed to restore normal hormone levels in men with deficiency, not to boost or optimize performance, Munger noted.—
Shiv Sudhakar,
FOXNews.com,
4 Oct. 2025
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Rocha also has language deficiencies and has low cognitive functioning, testing with an IQ of 81 as a child, according to Reynolds.—
PJ Green,
Kansas City Star,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deficit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deficit. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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