austerity.

1. A policy of reducing government spending or raising taxes to limit public borrowing or deficits.

2. A strict or plain manner of life or appearance with few comforts or decorations.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• austerity measures
• prolonged austerity

On the page

The council closed several services during a period of austerity.

Usage notes

Primary category: economics / business / social science. Forms: Usually uncountable; no ordinary plural in this sense. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: moderately common.