If a business is in the black, it is making a profit and not in debt.
In the black is the opposite of in the red.
The idiom ‘in the black’ usually refers to businesses but it can be used to refer to the finances of an individual.
Origin of ‘In the Black’
Used since the early 1900s, this idiom refers to the bookkeeping practice of marking credits (payments or money leaving the business) in black ink and debits in red.
Sentence Examples
“Thanks to our new CFO, we are now in the black for the first time in years.”
“When we first opened the restaurant, we were in the black five years running but things got bad during the Covid epidemic.
“Just one more house payment and I’ll be in the black.”
“Just because we’re in the black doesn’t mean we can slack off. Bills will keep coming.”
Similar and Related Idioms
- Made Of Money: Possessing an extraordinary amount of wealth or financial resources (often used in negative or defensive statements, e.g., “I can’t just buy a new car, I’m not made of money!”).
- Have Money to Burn: To have so much excess money that one can afford to spend it carelessly, extravagantly, or on unnecessary luxuries.
- Gravy Train: The gravy train refers to a source of easy financial profit, or a position in which you have a very good chance of obtaining advantages. Usually used in the phrase “riding the gravy train.”
- Making a Killing: Earning an exceptionally large financial profit very quickly or with relatively little effort.
- Rolling In It: Extremely wealthy, affluent, or currently enjoying a massive surplus of money.
- Making a Mint: Producing or earning money in enormous quantities or at a very rapid rate.