red ink
Americannoun
-
a financial deficit; business loss.
-
the condition of showing a business loss.
Etymology
Origin of red ink
An Americanism dating back to 1925–30
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The deficit in the 2025 fiscal year was $1.78 trillion, down only slightly from the prior year’s $1.82 trillion in red ink.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026
The red ink is mounting for companies in the business of slaughtering cattle.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026
The company attributed most of the flood of red ink to “loss from investments,” of which more in a moment.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2026
Yet little attention is paid to the tide of red ink that higher rates brought to the bank itself.
From Barron's • Nov. 28, 2025
My papers always came back looking as though she had poured red ink on them.
From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
