credit score

American  

[kred-it skawr] / ˈkrɛd ɪt ˌskɔr /

noun

Personal Finance.

credit scores plural

1. a numerical ranking of an individual’s financial creditworthiness based on spending and credit history, indicating to potential lenders and credit card issuers the individual’s capacity and likelihood to make timely payments of amounts due on loans or credit cards.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• credit scores
  plural

Etymology

Origin of credit score

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

Genna Contino explained how requesting an increase for a credit card’s borrowing limit can lower your credit score, and how best to time your request for a credit limit increase.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 18, 2026

A higher credit score can help you save money with lower interest rates when you borrow to finance a big-ticket item such as a home or a car.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 18, 2026

Lease payments depend on a range of factors, including the car’s projected value at the end of the lease, a buyer’s down payment and credit score, interest rates and more.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 16, 2026

In determining a credit score, utilization is the second most influential factor after payment history, so requesting a credit-limit increase to lower that utilization ratio is one strategic way consumers can boost their credit score.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 16, 2026

The player winning the first stroke gets a credit score of 15; for the second he gets 30; for the third 40, and if he wins the fourth he has the game.

From Entertainments for Home, Church and School by Seeger, Frederica