red ink

NOUN

debt

Synonyms

STRONGEST

arrears bill capital commitment credit damage deficit due indebtedness liability mortgage obligation price tag receipt

STRONG

IOU albatross baggage bite check chit claim cuff debenture debit dues duty encumbrance invoice manifest note reckoning responsibility score tab tally voucher

WEAK

arrearage bad news below the line dead horse in hock in the hole in the red outstandings promissory note

Antonyms

STRONG

irresponsibility

WEAK

asset cash excess profit

NOUN

deficit

Synonyms

STRONGEST

loss shortfall

STRONG

arrears defalcation default deficiency dues inadequacy insufficiency lack paucity scantiness shortcoming

WEAK

dead horse due bill in hock in the hole in the red insufficience underage

Antonyms

STRONG

abundance adequacy advantage enough perfection plenty satisfaction success sufficiency

WEAK

excess superfluousness

NOUN

shortfall

Synonyms

STRONGEST

deficiency flaw lack loss shortage shortcoming

STRONG

arrears default defectiveness inadequacy incompleteness insufficiency

WEAK

in the hole in the red insufficience underage

Antonyms

STRONGEST

abundance enough perfection plenty success sufficiency

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.

They produced a lot of red ink in the company’s portfolio last year, as Occidental’s stock slumped.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 16, 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

During more than four decades as a private-equity investor, he swung from gushers of profit to sinkholes of red ink.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 9, 2025

Reality Labs, the division created to power that alternative universe, lost $4.4 billion last quarter, taking its cumulative red ink past $70 billion in less than five years.

From Barron's • Oct. 30, 2025

I take a slow sip of lukewarm coffee, reopen the book, and read the words scribbled in red ink near the top: Everyone needs an olly-olly-oxen-free.

From "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher

red ink

Example Sentences

Related Words