arrears

[ uh-reerz ]

/ əˈrɪərz /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR arrears ON THESAURUS.COM

plural noun

the state of being behind or late, especially in the fulfillment of a duty, promise, obligation, or the like: Many homeowners have fallen into arrears.

Sometimes arrear. something overdue in payment; a debt that remains unpaid: Those countries that have paid their arrears may be granted additional loans.

Nearby words

arras, arrau, array, arrayal, arrearage, arrears, arrector, arrenotoky, arrest, arrest of judgment, arrestable

Idioms

in arrears, behind or late, especially in payment: She was three months in arrears on her mortgage and credit card payments.Also Chiefly Law, in arrear.

Origin of arrears

1300–50; noun use of arrear (adv., now obsolete), Middle English arere behind < Middle French ≪ Latin ad retrō. See ad-, retro-

Related forms

ar·rear·age, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for arrears

Miss Peasey's wages were in arrears, and he must pay her £4 10s.
Plashers Mead|Compton Mackenzie
Sailors were clamouring for their arrears of pay on the very steps of the ducal palace.
Venice and its Story|Thomas Okey
They are not in arrears, and you may consequently guess at the wretched state of their moral feelings.
Valentine M'Clutchy, The Irish Agent|William Carleton
In some cases, large sums were granted as arrears due on the basis of the new rate.
The Cleveland Era|Henry Jones Ford

At the same time he was relieved from the payment of the tribute, then four years in arrears, owing to his distressed condition.
John Eliot's First Indian Teacher and Interpreter Cockenoe-de-Long Island and The Story of His Career from the Early Records|William Wallace Tooker

British Dictionary definitions for arrears

arrears

/ (əˈrɪəz) /

noun

Also called: arrearage (əˈrɪərɪdʒ) (sometimes singular) something outstanding or owed

in arrears or in arrear late in paying a debt or meeting an obligation

Word Origin for arrears

C18: from obsolete arrear (adv) behindhand, from Old French arere, from Medieval Latin adretrō, from Latin ad to + retrō backwards

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with arrears

arrears

see in arrears.