The English word “budget” is complex. There are many ways to use it, and it is often misused by non-native speakers.
One step towards using it well is understanding the etymology. Budget comes from the French word bougette, which refers to a small leather pouch or bag used to carry money. The amount you could carry obviously depended on the size—the bigger the bag, the more you could carry—so size words are often used.
- We have a tiny/small budget
- We have a big/huge budget.
- They have a tight budget—there’s no room for any extra expenses.
- There is plenty of room/space in the budget.
- These expenses don’t fit in the budget.
Many non-native speakers say "enough budget", but this is a mistake. You can say there is (or is not) enough money in the budget, we don't have a big enough budget, or enough room in the budget.
When reducing the size of the budget, we can cut the budget or, more strongly, slash the budget.
Budget can also be a verb, “We have budgeted for a three-member team, but we need at least one more person. We have to approach the client and ask to budget for one more.”
The word budget can be used as a target with over, on or under.
- We have a problem. At this pace of spending we are going to be over budget by about a million yen.
- Congratulations, the client was satisfied. You finished on time and on budget.
- Well done! You finished significantly under budget.
So budget is most often used in terms of size or target, or as a verb. However, there are a lot of other idioms and natural expressions that can be used with budget. Read the following and refer to the vocabulary section below if any of the usage is new.
- These days, many businesses are experiencing a budget crunch because of the economic decline. They have to make budget cuts to reduce spending and avoid a budget deficit.
- We have to draw up a budget and stick to it so we can pay off our debts. It's going to be a shoestring budget, but I think we can stay within it if we're careful.
- The school had a hard time balancing the budget due to a budget shortfall in government funds.
If you understood all the uses of budget and words related to budget, then congratulations! You can use the word budget more than twenty different ways. Check all the uses, as well as other higher-level vocabulary below.
—
etymology [noun]—the history and origin of a word.
tiny/small budget [adjective]—a small amount of money in the budget.
big/huge budget [adjective]—a large amount of money in the budget.
tight budget [adjective]—the size of the budget leaves no room for any extra expenses.
plenty of room/space in the budget [noun phrase]—the size of the budget leaves enough room for extra expenses.
fit/don't fit in the budget [verb]—the expenses do/don't fit within the size of the budget.
cut/slash the budget [verb]—reduce the size of the budget significantly.
to budget/budgeted [verb]—to create a plan regarding your budget.
over, on or under budget [prepositions]—in the end spending more than, equal to, or less than the money in your budget.
budget crunch [noun]—(during a project) when you need more money than you have left in the budget.
budget deficit [noun]—(at the end of a project) when you spend more money than the amount budgeted.
to draw up a budget [verb]—to create a budget.
shoestring budget [adjective]—very small budget, as in the string you use to tie your shoes.
within budget [preposition]—(during or at the end of a project) when your expenses don't exceed your budget.
to balance a budget [verb]—to make your personal or business income and expenses match.
shortfall [noun]—less money than needed or expected.
