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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Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - High School
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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.
In some jurisdictions, a fraud victim — like a defrauded bank — may argue for treatment as a special class of creditor with direct access to trust funds.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 16, 2026
Kerr is listed as an AllHere creditor in bankruptcy documents.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026
At the same time, Europe has been the U.S.’s largest creditor, wrote George Saravelos, Deutsche Bank’s chief currency strategist, in a widely read note this past week.
From Barron's • Jan. 24, 2026
“Some trusts are designed to protect beneficiaries from unforeseen circumstances, such as creditor claims or financial mismanagement,” the law firm says.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 16, 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
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.
