In the black

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🗓️ Idiom: In the Black (adj)

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💬 Meaning

• To be financially healthy or profitable.
• To have a positive balance in your financial accounts, especially after expenses.

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🧠 Example Sentences

• After a difficult first year, the company is finally in the black.
• Thanks to strong holiday sales, our store ended the quarter in the black.
• We need to cut unnecessary costs to stay in the black this year.

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🏛️ Origin

This idiom originates from accounting practices where profits were traditionally written in black ink, while losses were written in red. Being “in the black” meant the company was profitable.

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📝 Practice Exercises

1. Fill in the blank:

Our startup was __________ within just six months, which surprised everyone.

Answer

in the black

2. Choose the correct meaning of “in the black”:

A) Operating illegally
B) Losing money
C) Earning a profit

Answer

C) Earning a profit

3. Rewrite the sentence using the idiom:

“The company made a profit for the first time last quarter.” → Change the sentence using: in the black

Answer

The company was in the black for the first time last quarter.

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ℹ️ Other Useful Pages

👉 Finance and Accounting Idioms
👉 Business English Idioms List
👉 Student Space
👉 Tutor Toolkit

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