debt

[ det ]

noun

1. something that is owed or that one is bound to pay to or perform for another:

   a debt of $50.

   Synonyms: due, duty, obligation

2. a liability or obligation to pay or render something:

   My debt to her for advice is not to be discharged easily.

3. the condition of being under such an obligation:

   His gambling losses put him deeply in debt.

4. Theology. an offense requiring reparation; a sin; a trespass.

debt

/ dɛt /

noun

1. something that is owed, such as money, goods, or services
2. bad debt
   a debt that has little or no prospect of being paid
3. an obligation to pay or perform something; liability
4. the state of owing something, esp money, or of being under an obligation (esp in the phrases in debt, in ( someone's ) debt )
5. a temporary failure to maintain the necessary supply of something

   sleep debt

   oxygen debt

debt

1. Money, goods , or services owed by an individual, firm, or government to another individual, firm, or government.

Derived Forms

• ˈdebtless, adjective

Other Words From

• debtless adjective
• super·debt noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of debt¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English dette, from Old French, from Latin dēbita (neuter plural, taken in Vulgar Latin as feminine singular), noun use of dēbitus “owed,” past participle of dēbēre “to owe,” contraction of dēhabēre (unrecorded), from dē- de- + habēre “to have”

Word History and Origins

Origin of debt¹

C13: from Old French dette, from Latin dēbitum, from dēbēre to owe, from de- + habēre to have; English spelling influenced by the Latin etymon

Idioms and Phrases

see head over heels (in debt) .

Example Sentences

But with “Bird,” which deploys the splendid vérité intimacy of her longtime cinematographer Robbie Ryan, Arnold seems intent on explicitly acknowledging a debt to Loach, forging an exuberantly poetic conversation with the director’s boy-and-his-falcon 1969 classic “Kes.”

From Los Angeles Times

UCLA, saddled with $102.8 million in athletic debt, wasn’t sure it could keep fielding all sports before the moving from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten.

From Los Angeles Times

There is also the matter of the athletic department’s massive debt.

From Los Angeles Times

Apprentices are paid to work while they study, so students end up with less debt.

From BBC

In 2022, the country defaulted on its foreign debt for the first time, forcing it to seek debt restructuring deals.

From BBC

Related Words

• arrears
• bill
• capital
• commitment
• credit
• damage
• deficit
• due
• indebtedness
• liability
• mortgage
• obligation
• price tag
• receipt