noun
Other Word Forms
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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Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - Introductory
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cred
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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.
The leverage the city has on the pending sale includes its status as a creditor seeking to recoup public funds spent to protect the complex with fencing and deploy police security to prevent vandalism.
From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2026
The strength of this creditor protection depends on how the trust is drafted.
From MarketWatch • May 23, 2026
Glutality’s largest unsecured creditor is insurance giant United HealthCare, which has asserted an $8.5 million claim against the start-up citing “overpayment for medical services.”
From Barron's • Mar. 4, 2026
Kerr is listed as an AllHere creditor in bankruptcy documents.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 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
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.
