/ ˈdefɪsɪt; NAmE / noun
1.
( economics ) the amount by which money spent or owed is greater than money earned in a particular period of time :
a budget / trade deficit
The trade balance has been in deficit for the past five years.
—compare surplus
2.
the amount by which sth, especially an amount of money, is too small or smaller than sth else :
There's a deficit of $3 million in the total needed to complete the project.
The team has to come back from a 2–0 deficit in the first half.
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WORD ORIGIN
late 18th cent.: via French from Latin deficit it is lacking, from the verb deficere desert or fail, from de- (expressing reversal) + facere do.