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Glite Dictionary
to curtail spending

to curtail spending

1 4.3
To spend less money to save or avoid debt
  • phrasal verb
  • /kərˈteɪl ˈspɛndɪŋ/
translation icon : reducir gastos
  • The Saudis have taken steps to curtail their deficit, reducing spending from $83 billion in 1982 to $48 billion in 1992, but if current trends persist, Saudi Arabia will soon become a major debtor state.

Examples

  • This report, which focuses on military compensation, discusses several approaches that could be taken to curtail federal spending.

    Blog text (15)

  • He said his reason for voting for him was that he believed we spend too much money and that Romney would be a better choice to curtail spending.

    Blog text (24)

  • France wanted to build the EMU first, principally to curtail deficit spending among the weaker trading members and to impose monetary discipline on the Community.

    Academic text (1992)

  • To save up for a vacation, I need to curtail spending by dining out less frequently.

  • Many families decided to curtail spending on luxury items to manage their finances better during the recession.

  • The company plans to curtail spending on office supplies to improve their budget for employee training.

Synonyms

to save
vsto curtail spending
644 1.0

Use less of something to avoid waste

is specifically about cutting money use to prevent debt rather than just waste
to save money
vsto curtail spending
257 1.3

To put money aside instead of spending it now

focuses specifically on cutting current money use to avoid debt
to cut back
vsto curtail spending
169 2.9

To reduce how much you buy and use to save money and be healthier

is about lowering money use to avoid debt
to cut back on
vsto curtail spending
75 3.2

Use less of something to save money or be healthier

is used for general money cuts aimed at avoiding debt
to cut costs
vsto curtail spending
30 3.0

To spend less money to save or make more money

is focused on saving to avoid debt rather than business profit
to economize
vsto curtail spending
  • US
7 5.0

Use money or resources carefully to avoid waste

is about active reduction to avoid debt rather than general careful use
to retrench
vsto curtail spending
  • Formal
5 8.1

To reduce spending because of money problems

is general saving to avoid debt, not only due to hardship
to tighten one's belt
vsto curtail spending
  • Informal
5 5.8

Spend less and live more simply because you have less money

is about lowering money use broadly to avoid debt, not personal frugality
to slash spending
vsto curtail spending
4 4.2

To cut the amount of money a person or group uses by a lot

is a milder reduction aimed at avoiding debt rather than drastic cuts
to save a buck
vsto curtail spending
  • Informal
2 6.4

Spend less money than usual when you buy something

is about cutting money use to avoid debt rather than small savings
to tighten the purse strings
vsto curtail spending
  • Informal
1 5.8

To spend less money and control how money is used

is general reduction to avoid debt rather than control focus
to prune the budget
vsto curtail spending
4.9

To cut spending by removing unnecessary costs from a budget

is broader, reducing overall money use not only budget items

Antonyms

to bump up the budget
3.9

To increase the money available for a project or plan

How Reduced

to curtail spending
1 4.3
to cut back
169 2.9

Surface Forms

curtail spending infinitive
curtailed spending past
curtailed spending past participle
curtailing spending present participle
curtails spending third person singular

Morphology

curtail + spending

The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'curtail' (to cut short/reduce) plus 'spending' (the act of paying), so the phrase clearly means to reduce how much is spent. This verb + noun combination follows a common, cross-linguistic pattern of 'reduce X' constructions, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

Curtail spending comes from the old verb curtail, which meant to 'cut the tail' off an animal. So curtail spending gives the picture of cutting away part of your spending, which is why it means to 'reduce' how much money you spend.