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debt

debt

2.6
An amount of money that you owe to someone
  • noun
  • /dɛt/
translation icon : deuda
  • Sooner or later, that debt must be paid.
  • credit card debt
  • repay debts
  • pay debts

Could we please split his debt with Harry, with JJ?

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Examples

  • Janus Gaming is a quarter of a million dollars in debt.

  • All the while, Germany's debt just kept on growing.

  • So the rich know how to use debt to get rich.

  • You know, I think really debt is killing us these days.

  • But one thing is for sure, this debt payment will not change.

  • It's not a sin to be in debt, but it makes things difficult.

    Academic text (2012)
  • Our national debt is something shocking!

  • The acquisition of credit card debt by college students has long been a topic of concern.

    Academic text (2013)
  • Students discussed their willingness to acquire additional debt and the maximum amount they would ever borrow.

    Academic text (2015)
  • Many young people today are struggling with student debt after graduation.

Synonyms

bill
vsdebt
1.0

A paper telling you how much you must pay

refers to the owed amount or state rather than the written notice
obligation
vsdebt
  • Formal
136 3.8

A formal legal or financial promise to do what an agreement says, often with a penalty if not kept

is more specific to amounts, not to legal duties
indebtedness
vsdebt
5 7.0

Owing money to another person or company

includes both a specific amount or goods and the general state of owing
4 4.5

An amount of money someone must pay to another person or company

can be broader, covering goods, services, or informal owing
reckoning
vsdebt
  • Archaic
1 7.7

A bill showing the money you must pay for food or services

is the broader financial term covering amounts and owing state
liabilities
vsdebt
  • Specialized
1 4.8

Money that a person or company owes to others

is the general, everyday term for amounts someone owes

Antonyms

3.1

An amount of money you can borrow now and pay back later

Idioms

To serve the punishment for a crime, often by going to prison

Compounds

65 3.7

All the money a country's government owes to others

debt ceiling
  • Formal
42 5.3

The maximum amount of money a government can borrow by law

Money a person owes because they used a credit card to buy things

debt limit
  • Formal
18 3.9

The maximum amount a government can borrow by law

A feeling of thanks that makes you want to repay someone who helped you

public debt
  • Specialized
10 3.9

All the money a government has borrowed

bad debt
  • Specialized
9 4.1

A debt that a person who borrowed money cannot or will not pay back

debt instrument
  • Specialized
1 6.1

A document or digital record, like a bond, that shows someone owes money and when they must pay it back

debt ratio
  • Specialized
1 4.3

The part of a company's assets that comes from borrowed money

1 7.8

A duty to pay after a bet or promise that law does not require

1 6.6

An official limit on how much money a government can borrow

oxygen debt
  • Specialized
1 5.7

A short time after hard exercise when the body lacks oxygen and breathing becomes heavy to recover

debt of nature
  • Archaic
9.9

A certain fact that every living person must die

installment debt
  • Specialized
4.3

Money you pay back in regular fixed payments over time

robo-debt scandal
  • Australian
6.8

Public controversy in Australia about a computer system that wrongly said people owed welfare money

How Binding

liability
  • Specialized
176 5.1
debt
2.6
obligation
  • Formal
136 3.8
contract
2.8
agreement
  • Formal
1.4
understanding
203 3.7

Surface Forms

debt singular
debts plural

Etymology

Debt comes from the old Latin word debitum, which means 'something owed', and from the verb debere, 'to owe'. So a debt today is what you 'owe' someone, usually money or goods.