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# negative growth

phrase (noun phrase: negative growth, uncountable); economics jargon

«negative growth» in the English dictionary: in the primary school — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## In the primary school

Source: Mova's pupils' dictionary. Licence: [Elamur Cosmic License](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/LICENSE/). Reviewed: the dictionary the pupils of Mova's primary school read; its examples quote the lessons and public-domain tales. Ships with Mova.

### Meaning

1. (euphemism, jargon) shrinking; getting smaller instead of bigger (of an economy, sales or a company).
2. (maths, technical) a growth rate below zero, so the amount goes down.

### In the lessons

Politicians, companies and economists say it to avoid the plain words «shrinking», «falling» or «recession», which sound like failure. Jargon and official register, all English-speaking countries; heard on business news.

### Examples

- The economy saw negative growth for two quarters in a row.
- «Negative growth» is just a fancy way of saying sales went down.
- The company reported negative growth of 3 per cent.
- If the population was 100 and is now 95, the growth is negative: minus 5.
- The minister refused to say «recession» and spoke of «a period of negative growth».
- My savings had negative growth after the holidays.

### Note

It sounds like a contradiction (growth means getting bigger), which is why people joke about it. In maths it means a decrease: a growth of −5% means the amount fell by 5 per cent. Two quarters of negative growth is the usual meaning of «recession». Plain words: shrinking, falling, decline.