red ink
12
4.4
- noun
- /rɛd ɪŋk/
:
números rojos
- Perhaps a good marketing campaign touting its products could generate enough sales to stop the red ink?
Think US ink is suffering red ink in dealing with China.
- Think US ink is suffering red ink in dealing with China.
Examples
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The 1962 federal deficit was $7.1 billion, more than double the $3.3 billion in federal red ink in 1961.
Blog text (25) -
U.S. agriculture depends on exports; without exports, it is in red ink.
Academic text (1998) -
After years of having their work covered in red ink, many students simply give up.
Blog text (12) -
I hope that they experience the red ink that all of us will experience when our taxes go up.
Blog text (12) -
Voters made it clear last November that they were fed up with red ink.
Blog text (13) -
For many decades, Republicans (and Democrats) have authored and voted yes on many red ink budgets many times.
Blog text (17) -
As a drooping economy has sent state budgets across the country plunging into whirlpools of red ink, legislators have reacted by cutting services across the board.
Academic text (2005) -
Despite efforts to cut costs, the company's red ink increased significantly this year.
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Investors expressed concern over the growing red ink in the quarterly reports.
-
The city faced challenges as its budget was filled with red ink for the second consecutive year.
Synonyms
695
2.1
Money lost by a business or person
674
4.3
An amount by which money or resources are less than needed
62
3.7
A situation when a budget has more spending than income, for example for a government or company
25
6.3
A business or person that owes more money than they have
7
4.9
Having less money than you owe
1
6.5
In debt because a business is losing money
A fast loss of money that puts a company at risk
Antonyms
How Severe
Surface Forms
Morphology
red + ink
The phrase combines literal meanings — 'red' (a color often used to mark negative numbers) and 'ink' (used for writing accounts) — so there is a clear metaphorical link to recorded losses. However, the accounting convention of using red to show deficits is cultural knowledge and not strictly derivable from the words alone, so learners who know the words but not this convention may not predict the meaning.
Etymology
The noun red ink comes from old business books where people wrote losses in red with ink, so they stood out from profits written in black. That's why red ink now means a 'financial loss'.