IOU
or I.O.U.
a written acknowledgment of a debt, especially an informal one consisting only of the letters IOU, the sum owed, and the debtor's signature.
Origin of IOU
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use IOU in a sentence
The head has brains in it, if the owner has any, replied the boy; the stomach has bowels; they are five—a-e-i-o-u.
The Story of My Life, volumes 4-6 | Augustus J. C. Hare
British Dictionary definitions for IOU
a written promise or reminder to pay a debt
Origin of IOU
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for IOU
Abbreviation for “I owe you.” An IOU is a written statement of a borrower's obligation to pay a debt.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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