debt
Americannoun
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something that is owed or that one is bound to pay to or perform for another.
a debt of $50.
- Synonyms:
- due, duty, obligation
-
a liability or obligation to pay or render something.
My debt to her for advice is not to be discharged easily.
-
the condition of being under such an obligation.
His gambling losses put him deeply in debt.
-
Theology. an offense requiring reparation; a sin; a trespass.
noun
-
something that is owed, such as money, goods, or services
-
a debt that has little or no prospect of being paid
-
an obligation to pay or perform something; liability
-
the state of owing something, esp money, or of being under an obligation (esp in the phrases in debt, in ( someone's ) debt )
-
a temporary failure to maintain the necessary supply of something
sleep debt
oxygen debt
Other Word Forms
- debtless adjective
- superdebt noun
Etymology
Origin of debt
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English dette, from Old French, from Latin dēbita (neuter plural, taken in Vulgar Latin as feminine singular), noun use of dēbitus “owed,” past participle of dēbēre “to owe,” contraction of dēhabēre (unrecorded), from dē- de- + habēre “to have”
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.
South Carolina does not have filial-responsibility laws, and Maryland repealed its own law in 2017, meaning adult children are not responsible for their parents’ debts or care-home costs, unless they sign as a guarantor.
From MarketWatch
Some traders prefer to target AI debt because fewer individual investors play in that market, helping shield it against meme-stock-like surges that would squeeze bearish positions.
I will forever be in debt for all they’ve given me and my family.
From MarketWatch
If companies that borrowed through private markets start defaulting on their debt, that spells bad news for the stock market, too.
The Southeast Asian economy has struggled to return to pre-pandemic levels of growth, weighed down by high household debt, weak consumption and a tepid tourism recovery.
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.
