debit

[deb-it]

noun

1. the recording or an entry of debt in an account.

2. Bookkeeping.

   1. that which is entered in an account as a debt; a recorded item of debt.

   2. any entry or the total shown on the debit side.

   3. the left-hand side of an account on which such entries are made (credit ).

3. an undesirable or disadvantageous feature.

verb (used with object)

1. to charge with a debt.

   The store debited her account for the purchase.

2. to charge as a debt.

   The store debited the purchase to her account.

3. Bookkeeping.,  to enter upon the debit side of an account.

debit

/ ˈdɛbɪt /

noun

1. 1. acknowledgment of a sum owing by entry on the left side of an account

   2. the left side of an account

   3. an entry on this side

   4. the total of such entries

   5. ( as modifier ) Compare credit

      a debit balance

verb

1. (tr)

   1. to record (an item) as a debit in an account

   2. to charge (a person or his account) with a debt Compare credit

Other Word Forms

• predebit noun
• redebit verb (used with object)
• undebited adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of debit¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Old French < Latin dēbitum something owed; debt

Word History and Origins

Origin of debit¹

C15: from Latin dēbitum _debt

Example Sentences

The downside of this feature, Sutter said, is a signal is constantly being emitted from the key fob, similar to a debit card.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He bluffed, saying he had no debit card.

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The card acts both as both a debit card for instant payments and a credit card to split purchases into installments.

Read more on Barron's

New York’s legal cannabis stores are cash-only—or they take debit cards by running the purchase as a “cashless ATM” transaction instead of a cannabis sale to disguise the purchase.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Capital One COF -2.40%decrease; red down pointing triangle is moving its debit cards over to the Discover network after acquiring the network earlier this year.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal