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

First recorded in 1610–20; representing I owe you

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for iou

chit, debenture, bill, debt

Examples from the Web for iou

Contemporary Examples of iou

She is the author of the bestsellers The Silent Takeover and IOU: The Debt Threat .
The New Co-op Capitalism
Noreena Hertz
February 23, 2009

Historical Examples of iou

It answers to the Welsh au or iau, and the Breton ou or iou.
A Handbook of the Cornish Language
Henry Jenner
This way he had more to eat or to sell for IOU's to collect later.
The Biography of a Rabbit
Roy Benson
The evening previous he had lost a thousand dollars, for which he had given his IOU.
Jack's Ward
Horatio Alger, Jr.

British Dictionary definitions for iou

IOU

noun

a written promise or reminder to pay a debt

Word Origin for IOU

C17: representing I owe you

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

iou in Culture

IOU

Abbreviation for “I owe you.” An IOU is a written statement of a borrower's obligation to pay a debt.