debit balance
- noun
- /ˈdɛbɪt ˈbæləns/
- Specialized
:
saldo deudor
- He was surprised to find out that his debit balance had increased after a few recent transactions.
- net debit balance
Examples
-
To avoid fees, it's important to keep track of your debit balance and ensure it does not exceed your credits.
-
As checks, notes, and coins cleared, the banks would develop net credit or debit balances.
Academic text (1992) -
Similarly, a bank with a net debit balance could insist on settling the balance with T-bills and a short position.
Academic text (1992) -
Risk aversion implies his bank seeks a net debit balance by buying bonds, expanding loans, and lowering its deposit interest rates in order to shift its long position to other banks.
Academic text (1992) -
The T-bills would be provided by the banks with the matching net debit balances, and they must also take opposite short positions, presumably in proportion to the sizes of their balances.
Academic text (1992) -
After reviewing her account statement, she realized that her debit balance meant she owed the bank money.
Synonyms
1
4.8
An account amount below zero when you owe money to the bank
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is compositionally built from 'debit' + 'balance' — a balance characterized by debits — so the headwords clearly indicate a type of account balance. However, interpreting this as 'debits exceed credits' and therefore that the account holder owes money requires basic accounting knowledge, making it not fully transparent to a general B1 learner.
Etymology
Debit balance comes from old account books where amounts someone owed were written on the left as debits and payments were on the right. If the left side was larger, the account had a debit balance, so it meant the person 'owed money'.