turn a loss
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb phrase: - To fail to make money in a business; to operate at a financial deficit, resulting in a net loss.
Usage
This phrase is used specifically in business and financial contexts to describe a situation where expenses exceed income. It is a formal way of stating that a business or investment was not profitable.
Examples
Advanced Usage
- The phrase is often used in past tense to report financial results (e.g., "The division turned a loss last quarter").
- It can be used with modifiers to specify the scale or time period (e.g., "turn a significant loss," "turn a loss for the third consecutive year").
Variants and Related Words
- Sustain a loss: A more formal synonym often used in official reports.
- Post a loss: Commonly used in journalism and financial statements to mean the same as "turn a loss."
- Run at a loss: Describes the ongoing state of operating unprofitably.
- Loss-making (adj): Used to describe a business that is not profitable (e.g., "a loss-making venture").
Synonyms
- Lose money
- Operate at a deficit
- Be unprofitable
Antonyms
- Turn a profit
- Make money
- Be profitable
Related Idioms and Phrases
- In the red: An informal idiom meaning to be operating at a loss, derived from accounting practices where losses were written in red ink.
- After the economic downturn, the company was in the red for two years.
- Bleed money: A more vivid, informal phrase suggesting a continuous and serious financial loss.
- The factory was bleeding money and had to be closed.
Verb
- fail to make money in a business; make a loss or fail to profit
- I lost thousands of dollars on that bad investment!
- The company turned a loss after the first year