Definition of "deficit" []

• Inadequacy or insufficiency: a deficit in grain production. (noun)
• A deficiency or impairment in mental or physical functioning. (noun)
• An unfavorable condition or position; a disadvantage: rallied from a three-game deficit to win the playoffs. (noun)
• The amount by which a sum of money falls short of the required or expected amount; a shortage: large budget deficits. (noun)
• A business loss. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Lonely, because some progressives think the term deficit hawk is a pejorative, and many deficit hawks think progressives aren't serious."
• "If Marr had used the term deficit, you would be correct, but there is a big difference between the deficit and the debt."
• "If being in deficit is "broke," Bush has already bankrupted the general fund by your logic."