profit and loss
noun
Simple meaning
An account compiled at the end of an accounting period to show gross and net profit or loss.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
prahfuhtandlawsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpɹɑfəˈtændˈlɔs
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
An account compiled at the end of an accounting period to show gross and net profit or loss
A profit-and-loss statement; an income statement.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: An account compiled at the end of an accounting period to show gross and net profit or loss
Used this way, profit and loss is a specialist word with a faintly unfavourable edge. This is a financial use: it has a settled meaning in accounting and business, where precision matters more than colour.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly negative
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Critical or judgemental
- Usage feel
- Clinical and detached
Where it naturally appears
- Finance/economics
- Business/professional
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.