national debt ceiling
1
6.6
- noun
- /ˈnæʃənl dɛt ˈsiːlɪŋ/
- Formal
:
límite de deuda nacional
- During the Bush Jr. years, Ryan was a consistent supporter of big government and crony capitalism, voting for No Child Left Behind, the Iraq War, Medicare Part D, raising the national debt ceiling, and the Wall Street bailout.
- raise the national debt ceiling
Examples
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Experts warn that failing to raise the national debt ceiling could lead to a government shutdown.
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In the negotiations over increasing the national debt ceiling, one fact is so obvious it has barely been mentioned: America has a government that can be, and currently is, divided.
Blog text (9) -
The national debt ceiling will rise to a whopping $11.3 trillion, up from $8 trillion a year ago.
Blog text (4) -
Second: the implementation of "sequestration" -- that is, the across-the-board spending cuts required under the terms of last year's deal to raise the national debt ceiling.
Blog text (24) -
The government proposed a new plan to raise the national debt ceiling to finance additional public projects.
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In recent years, discussions about the national debt ceiling have become a frequent topic in Congress.
Synonyms
258
3.3
A maximum limit on money or people allowed
110
3.7
An upper limit on the amount or number allowed
42
5.3
The maximum amount of money a government can borrow by law
18
3.9
The maximum amount a government can borrow by law
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from 'national' (country-level) + 'debt' (money owed) + 'ceiling' (a cap or maximum): together they denote a government-set maximum on how much the country may borrow. The figurative use of 'ceiling' as 'limit' is common and cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will grasp the core meaning (even if they lack detailed political/process knowledge).
Etymology
National debt ceiling comes from a simple image: a ceiling is the top of a room you cannot go above. So it means the official 'limit' on how much a government can borrow, and when politicians 'raise the ceiling' they allow more borrowing.