deleverage

[ dee-lev-er-ij, ‑-lee-ver‑ ]

verb (used without object)

, de·lev·er·aged, de·lev·er·ag·ing.

1. to decrease financial leverage by paying off debt:

   Their balance sheet significantly improved after they deleveraged.

verb (used with object)

, de·lev·er·aged, de·lev·er·ag·ing.

1. to reduce the debt of:

   He drastically deleveraged the company to make it profitable.

noun

1. an instance of this:

   The economic crisis has forced a deleverage.

deleverage

/ diːˈlɛvərɪdʒ; -vrɪdʒ /

verb

1. finance (of an organization) to reduce the ratio of debt capital to equity capital

Word History and Origins

Origin of deleverage¹

First recorded in 1980–85; de- ( def ) + leverage ( def )

Example Sentences

Ng said the latest stimulus should help stabilise the home market and consumer confidence, allowing developers to deleverage less painfully, though more is needed to reverse a decline in income growth in a slowing economy.

From Reuters

Earnings "impact is difficult to quantify but gaming's high margin and low variable cost means any revenue reduction would cause substantial operational deleverage", the note added.

From Reuters

"Any concrete action from China in support of Russia could be seen as a strong rationale for a derisk and deleverage from Asian exposure."

From Reuters

"There are also concerns being expressed by non short sellers, long-term only institutions and analysts who've looked at the group for a while that there is a lot of debt in the company. And though the company says that it's manageable and there are plans to deleverage, some people may view that as raising mistakes."

From Reuters

Another real estate executive told Reuters the government was unlikely to reverse its goal to deleverage the sector, and cautioned that if no drastic support measures were announced at the party congress, disappointment could lead to a market rout.

From Reuters