arrearage
Americannoun
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the state or condition of being in arrears.
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Often arrearages. arrears; amount or amounts overdue.
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Archaic. a thing or part kept in reserve.
Etymology
Origin of arrearage
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English arerage, from Old French; see origin at arrears, -age
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.
Nevertheless, keeping a creditworthy borrower in a home through a sustainable modification and resolving the arrearage through a subordinate lien can be dramatically less costly than allowing the loan to fail.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Even then, water companies must choose to participate in the arrearage programs; those who don’t exclude their customers from financial aid.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2022
Last month, the Chase Lloyd House Board of Trustees, which oversees the mansion, approved a $24,000 grant from its endowment to help pay off rent arrearage for women living in Annapolis public housing.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 30, 2021
However, earned surplus, out of which dividend arrears would have to be paid, still amounted to only about a third of the arrearage.
From Time Magazine Archive
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There is an arrearage of pay of two weeks due to the force, and the men have by the law and rules of the board been prevented from engaging in any other business or occupation.
From Baltimore and The Nineteenth of April, 1861 A Study of the War by George William Brown
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.