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debt of honour

British  

noun

  1. a debt that is morally but not legally binding, such as one contracted in gambling

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the pledge would settle a "debt of honour" to women born in the 1950s.

From BBC • Nov. 23, 2019

"We have a historical debt of honour to them and when we go into government we are going to fulfil that debt," he said.

From BBC • Nov. 23, 2019

Lib Dem peer Lord Ashdown has said the UK has a "debt of honour" to the 450 interpreters who have worked alongside British troops since 2001.

From BBC • May 1, 2013

Noble sir," said Oswald, "we Saxons never permit a debt of honour to go unrequited.

From The Last of the Vikings by Bowling, John

“Mind that’s a debt of honour, so look out.”

From Hollowdell Grange Holiday Hours in a Country Home by Fenn, George Manville

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.