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
Mahomes answered with a 49-yard touchdown strike to Tyquan Thornton, cutting the deficit to three.
—
Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Fueling your body rather than starving it will give you the energy to exercise and stay in a calorie deficit while still feeling good.
—Sohaib Imtiaz, Verywell Health, 15 Sep. 2025
Drought concerns in the Midwest and Northeast Widespread moderate drought has developed recently in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast, where precipitation during August was well below normal (rainfall deficits of 3 to 5 inches).
—Doyle Rice, USA Today, 14 Sep. 2025
Sporting found itself with a two-goal deficit before an RSL own goal gave the visitors a late lifeline.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 14 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deficit
Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Fueling your body rather than starving it will give you the energy to exercise and stay in a calorie deficit while still feeling good.
—Sohaib Imtiaz, Verywell Health, 15 Sep. 2025
Drought concerns in the Midwest and Northeast Widespread moderate drought has developed recently in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast, where precipitation during August was well below normal (rainfall deficits of 3 to 5 inches).
—Doyle Rice, USA Today, 14 Sep. 2025
Sporting found itself with a two-goal deficit before an RSL own goal gave the visitors a late lifeline.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 14 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deficit
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deficit
Noun
-
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
-
Trump’s encouragement of Walker was enough to spur him into the race, though Republicans as a whole were hesitant, given Walker’s lack of experience and standing as an unknown quantity among GOP voters.—
Kimberly Ross,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
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Traditional data lakes can store raw data at scale but lack quality controls, while warehouses enforce structure but struggle with unstructured or fast changing data.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The Maasai had vitamin A and C deficiencies due to meat and dairy exclusivity.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
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B vitamins have been reported to help prevent Alzheimer’s disease and depression associated with vitamin B12 deficiency.—
Alessandra Signorelli,
Vogue,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deficit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deficit. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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