creditor

American  

[kred-i-ter] / ˈkrɛd ɪ tər /

noun

1. a person or firm to whom money is due (debtor ).

2. a person or firm that gives credit in business transactions.

3. Bookkeeping. credit.

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creditor British  

/ ˈkrɛdɪtə /

noun

1. a person or commercial enterprise to whom money is owed Compare debtor

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creditor Cultural  

1. One to whom a debt is owed.

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Other Word Forms

• creditorship noun
• noncreditor noun
• precreditor noun

Etymology

Origin of creditor

1400–50; late Middle English creditour < Latin crēditor, equivalent to crēdi- variant stem of crēdere to believe, entrust ( 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!

Example Sentences

So will the new money for many of China’s debtors in the developing world, where it’s the largest creditor.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026

Kerr is listed in Delaware bankruptcy documents as the company’s largest creditor — owed $630,000 — although that is listed as disputed.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2026

That makes it the U.S.’s third-largest creditor, behind the U.K. and Japan.

From Barron's • Feb. 9, 2026

Only someone with legal standing — an executor, heir, creditor or beneficiary, for example — can typically file a petition in a case such as this.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 7, 2026

I didn’t want Rufus having to face some creditor that I had angered with my twentieth-century brevity—which could come across as nineteenth-century abruptness, even discourtesy.

From "Kindred" by Octavia Butler

Related Words

• bank
• banker