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Definitions

in the red

ADJECTIVE
operating at a loss
Synonyms
WEAK
at a loss bankrupt behindhand defaulting delinquent in arrears in debt in dire straits in hock in the hole insolvent losing money nonpaying to the bad unprofitably
Antonyms
WEAK
in the black

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.

“I’m Carolina Giraldo Navarro from Medellín, Colombia, and today, I am the first Latina woman to headline at Coachella,” she told the crowd, decked in the red, blue and yellow colors of the Colombian flag.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

Things were far rosier in the red half of north London in 1998.

From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026

Anthropic expects to cross that line next year, though other costs are expected to keep the Claude chatbot parent in the red on a pretax earnings basis also until 2029.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026

The S&P 500 remains in the red so far this year, ending Thursday down 3.8%, according to FactSet data.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026

The only person who looked my way was the boy in the red hat.

From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson