red ink

Meanings

nounred ink (uncountable)

euphemisticidiomaticuncountableaccountingFinancial loss.
GCN has gleefully swum against the political mainstream. Less comfortable has been the financial torrent that now washes the paper in red ink. Being out of step politically has meant not having access to lucrative advertisers.
1991 December 1, Gordon Gottlieb, “The Struggle Continues”, in Gay Community News, volume 19, number 20, page 11
Antonyms: black ink
idiomaticslanguncountableCheap red wine.
uncountableUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: see red, ink.

nounFinancial loss.

Opposite

black ink

nounthe amount by which the cost of a business exceeds its revenue

Similar

Broader

sumsum of moneyamount

Also see

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cite this entry

APA

red ink. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/red%20ink

MLA

“red ink.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/red%20ink. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “red ink,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/red%20ink.

Source: red ink on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.