debit
Americannoun
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the recording or an entry of debt in an account.
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Bookkeeping.
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that which is entered in an account as a debt; a recorded item of debt.
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any entry or the total shown on the debit side.
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the left-hand side of an account on which such entries are made (opposed to credit).
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an undesirable or disadvantageous feature.
verb (used with object)
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to charge with a debt.
The store debited her account for the purchase.
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to charge as a debt.
The store debited the purchase to her account.
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Bookkeeping. to enter upon the debit side of an account.
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has debitedperfect 3rd person singular
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have debitedperfect
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debitingparticiple
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debitssingular 3rd person
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am debitingprogressive 1st person singular
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is debitingprogressive 3rd person singular
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has been debitingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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are debitingprogressive
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have been debitingperfect progressive
Past
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had debitedperfect
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had been debitingperfect progressive
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were debitingprogressive plural
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was debitingprogressive singular
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debitedsimple
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debitedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of debit
1400–50; late Middle English < Old French < Latin dēbitum something owed; see debt
Explanation
A debit is a payment made or charged, or the notation of the amount charged. Trying to track down the mysterious $2 debit to your bank account is almost never fruitful, but you’re bound to do it anyway. From the Latin debere, meaning “to owe,” and just one i away from its more blunt cousin debt, a debit seems like a little word. But add an s to the end, and those charges really add up. You can use the word debit as a verb — “to debit your account,” or a noun — “the debit on your account,” but either way, a debit means you have less money than you had before!
Vocabulary lists containing debit
"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 17
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de-
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Century 21 Accounting, 9e, Chapters 1-3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Debit cards haven’t offered rewards because the economics didn’t work for banks, but other businesses see things differently.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025
Figures include discounts for paying with Direct Debit in UK and Standing Order in Guernsey.
From BBC • Jun. 14, 2025
Debit and credit card fees are among the top monthly expenses for many small businesses, which say the costs are becoming more onerous as fewer consumers carry cash.
From New York Times • Nov. 30, 2024
Debit card recipients whose addresses have changed since filing their 2020 tax return could have their debit cards sent out between Jan. 30 and Feb. 14.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 12, 2023
Then he put down:— Dress-Suit Account Debit Credit Beginning of social education.
From Skinner's Dress Suit by Wilson, F. Vaux (Francis Vaux)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
