debit
Americannoun
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debits
plural
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the recording or an entry of debt in an account.
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Bookkeeping.
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that which is entered in an account as a debt; a recorded item of debt.
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any entry or the total shown on the debit side.
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the left-hand side of an account on which such entries are made (opposed to credit).
-
-
an undesirable or disadvantageous feature.
verb (used with object)
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debits,
present (3rd person singular)
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debited,
past participle, past
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debiting
present participle
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to charge with a debt.
The store debited her account for the purchase.
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to charge as a debt.
The store debited the purchase to her account.
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Bookkeeping. to enter upon the debit side of an account.
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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debitsimple
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debitssimple
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have debitedperfect
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has debitedperfect
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am debitingprogressive
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are debitingprogressive
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is debitingprogressive
-
have been debitingperfect progressive
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has been debitingperfect progressive
Past
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debitedsimple
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had debitedperfect
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was debitingprogressive
-
were debitingprogressive
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had been debitingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of debit
1400–50; late Middle English < Old French < Latin dēbitum something owed; see debt
Explanation
A debit is a payment made or charged, or the notation of the amount charged. Trying to track down the mysterious $2 debit to your bank account is almost never fruitful, but you’re bound to do it anyway. From the Latin debere, meaning “to owe,” and just one i away from its more blunt cousin debt, a debit seems like a little word. But add an s to the end, and those charges really add up. You can use the word debit as a verb — “to debit your account,” or a noun — “the debit on your account,” but either way, a debit means you have less money than you had before!
Vocabulary lists containing debit
"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 17
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de-
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Century 21 Accounting, 9e, Chapters 1-3
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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:
You will usually - although not always - need to switch to direct debit if you want to take advantage of the fixed deals on offer.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
Between 1 October and 31 December 2026, average standing charges for direct debit customers will be 54.83p a day for electricity and 29.68p a day for gas.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
“We electronically deposit your funds directly into a prepaid debit card account and the funds are available to you on your payment date,” the Social Security Administration says.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
Polymarket faced a major fraud attack in February where thieves linked stolen debit cards to accounts and tried to steal at least $10 million.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
He galloped around the table like he was riding an invisible bronco, waving his plastic debit card over his head and making whooping sounds.
From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty
It may also involve traditional accounting activities, such as tracking payments in a general ledger, involving debits and credits and double-entry accounting, as well as accounts payable activities of making payments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 3, 2026
The ledger of Newman’s youth had mostly debits for the future painter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025
It said payments were paused on Monday when lenders reported millions of suspicious direct debits from the payment firm.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2025
According to Chabrier, the new rule keeps pace with the change in overdraft protection as paper checks have been replaced with instant debits.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2024
And then the account book proper, with debits and credits on facing pages.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
The bank fixed the error and gave him a deposit slip that read: “Correction, teller debited wrong account.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
The cash helped her cover expenses until payday, when the app debited the borrowed $100, plus $18 for the fee and tip.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 23, 2024
Similar protection services are offered for ACH or transactions that are debited directly from a business bank account.
From New York Times ● Jan. 7, 2024
In fact, according to a case brought by the Dubai Islamic Bank against Citibank, more than $151m "was debited by Citibank from DIB's correspondent account without proper authorisation".
From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2018
And I remembered that even now, when I had been debited my three shillings to be present, I did not see the place in its normal daytime aspect at all.
From In Accordance with the Evidence by Oliver [pseud.] Onions
Warren also said that Bilt’s practice of immediately debiting rent payments may have run afoul of the 2009 Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act’s disclosure requirements for credit cards.
From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2026
Last month, the bureau punished Enova, which runs online lender CashNetUSA, for failing to honor promised loan extensions and for debiting customers’ bank accounts without authorization.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 6, 2019
This ability “endeared him to the Vatican,” because he could move church funds around by debiting an account in one branch and crediting one in another, with coins never changing hands.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 6, 2015
“All debt management is, is debiting and crediting different accounts,” Mr. Mosler said, recalling seeing numbers appear and disappear from his computer at Bankers Trust in New York in the 1970s.
From New York Times ● Jul. 4, 2013
His fee was 10s., and, after debiting his out-takes, he received 7s.
From Second Shetland Truck System Report by William Guthrie
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.
