What does it mean to be in the red?

Answer 1

"In the red" is often used to indicate that you are in debt or are negative in some way. This is originally a term used in bookkeeping or accounting when businesses used a ledger to keep track of money coming in or going out. They would used red ink to indicate the money is owed or if it was a negative number.
it means to be in the red is to be in love.

EDIT: It can also mean 'to be in debt' - In the days of hand-written ledgers in business - negative balances were always written in red ink. Snakester1962 (Supervisor)

Answer 2

"In the red" means overdrawn on a bank account, or owing money to someone.

It refers to the days when banks would type customers' bank statements, using a two-color ribbon. Once the balance was below zero, the typist switched from using the black to the red half of the ribbon.

Answer 3

"In the red" is a phrase most frequently used with regard to business. A business is said to be "in the red" if it is spending more money than it is making. Conversely, a business that is making a profit (making more money than it is spending) is said to be "in the black". The phrase originates from accounting where negative numbers are often shown in red ink while positive numbers are shown in black.

Both phrases are sometimes used in other contexts. In Golf, for example, a player with a score below par may be said to be "in the red" or "in red numbers" while a player with a score over par is said to be in the black. Golf scores on leaderboards are typically displayed as red or black numbers to indicate whether the player's score relative to par is under or over. "in the red" is usually an accounting or banking term. it means that you have a negative amount of money, and/or you don't have enough money budgeted to cover your expenses.

Answer 4

It means that a company is spending more money that it is earning. In other words, they are in debt. It is losing money and is making less profits than last year. Accountants use red to indicate this on overheads in board meetings. Its income is less than its expenditure-a serious problem, unless it has large reserves or a strategy to return to profitable trading. When a company is "operating in the red", it means their expenses are greater than their earnings. Therefore, they are not making a profit, which can cause the company to go bankrupt. When a company is "operating in the black", it means just the opposite; they are earning more money than their overhead (expenses) costs, and are making a profit. Due to the recent plummeting Stock Market, many people panicked and sold their stock in some of these companies, which caused a tremendous cash flow problem, resulting in some of the companies going bankrupt.

Answer 5

To be in debt