This word has appeared in 972 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year.

1. the amount by which money spent is greater than money earned; a shortage of funds

赤字；收支逆差

The country’s trade deficit widened sharply this quarter.

该国本季度贸易赤字大幅扩大。

2. a lack or shortage of something essential

不足；短缺；缺失

There is a serious deficit of professional medical staff in remote towns.

偏远乡镇专业医护人员缺口巨大。

de-(向下、不足) + fic (做，同 fac/fact) + -it 名词后缀

拉丁语源 deficit = it is lacking 不足、亏欠

字面本意：做得不够、收支亏欠联想：支出大于收入 → 财政赤字；物资人才供给不足 → 短缺缺失

Rising energy costs have pushed the government’s budget deficit to a record high.

能源成本上涨将政府预算赤字推至历史新高。

trade deficit 贸易逆差

budget deficit 预算赤字

a deficit of manpower 人力短缺

mental deficit 心智缺损

I’ve got a huge sleep deficit after staying up late all week.

这周天天熬夜，我严重缺觉。

If you overspend every month, you’ll always run a deficit on your bank account.

每个月都大手大脚花钱，账户永远入不敷出。