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Synonyms

debt

American  
[det] / dɛt /

noun

  1. something that is owed or that one is bound to pay to or perform for another.

    a debt of $50.
    Synonyms:
    due, duty, obligation

  2. a liability or obligation to pay or render something.

    My debt to her for advice is not to be discharged easily.

  3. the condition of being under such an obligation.

    His gambling losses put him deeply in debt.

  4. Theology. an offense requiring reparation; a sin; a trespass.

debt British  
/ dɛt /

noun

  1. something that is owed, such as money, goods, or services

  2. a debt that has little or no prospect of being paid

  3. an obligation to pay or perform something; liability

  4. the state of owing something, esp money, or of being under an obligation (esp in the phrases in debt, in ( someone's ) debt )

  5. a temporary failure to maintain the necessary supply of something

    sleep debt

    oxygen debt
"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
debt Cultural  

  1. Money, goods, or services owed by an individual, firm, or government to another individual, firm, or government.

debt Idioms  

  1. see head over heels (in 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.

Bush accrued thousands of pounds of debt across numerous lenders and eventually sought help from the debt advice charity StepChange.

From BBC

ET auction for 10-year Treasury notes went off better than expected, easing worries that the turmoil was spreading into U.S. government debt.

From The Wall Street Journal

World Athletics said it would only consider licensing or supporting any future GST events once its debts from the 2025 season are paid.

From BBC

For this reason "settling debts for past damages will not settle debts for past emissions", the authors wrote.

From Barron's

Do I really need to worry about such a small amount of credit-card debt?

From MarketWatch

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.