noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of creditor
1400–50; late Middle English creditour < Latin crēditor, equivalent to crēdi- variant stem of crēdere to believe, entrust ( see credit) + -tor -tor
Explanation
If Joe loans you two dollars so you can buy a cup of coffee, Joe is your creditor — you owe him two dollars and a big thank you! If you have a credit card, the bank that issues it to you is your creditor. What they give you is not just a piece of plastic: rather it is a line of credit or a certain amount of money that they have agreed to loan you at fixed terms. Make sure you pay it off every month or you'll become a debtor!
Vocabulary lists containing creditor
Believe It or Not: Cred
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cred
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Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - Introductory
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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.
See Examples For:
Gordon Brothers is the main creditor, and has made £70m of loans to the business.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
Poundland's main creditor is its owner, Gordon Brothers.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
The creditor committee alleges Dish’s parent company transferred billions of dollars in assets out of reach before filing for bankruptcy in June.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
Beyond its role as a major creditor, China has built a broad economic presence in Zambia, with interests spanning copper mining, roads, airports, power projects and industrial parks.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
The salesman had told Hale that because he wasn’t Roan’s relative, he could become his beneficiary only if he were his creditor.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
It has between one and 49 creditors, court documents said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
A Gordon Brothers insider said this would allow creditors to recover funds.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that a group of senior JetBlue creditors engaged advisers, a step typically taken when creditors have doubts about repayments they are owed.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026
Most creditors to Optimum—including some of Wall Street’s largest investment firms, such as Apollo, BlackRock, Ares Management and Oaktree—signed a cooperation agreement in 2024 to act as a united front in negotiations with the company.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
Washington Mutual followed, and was unceremoniously seized by the Treasury, wiping out both its creditors and its shareholders entirely.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
