national debt

American

noun

the financial obligations of a national government resulting from deficit spending.

national debt British

noun

Also called (esp US): public debt. the total outstanding borrowings of a nation's central government

"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

national debt Cultural

The debt of the government; the amount of borrowing by the government to meet expenditures exceeding tax revenues.

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A large national debt can inhibit growth and drive up interest rates.

Etymology

Origin of national debt

An Americanism dating back to 1775–85

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.

See Examples For:

national debt

In the coming days the U.S. national debt is set to breach $40 trillion for the first time.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

By the way, what drives the national debt?

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

Its Director David Aikman said that "treading water is not enough" to prevent the national debt from rising.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

Jackson repeatedly declared that, with no more national debt, the U.S. would “always” have a budget surplus.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

A reasonable estimate of the additional costs for capitalizing a gradual emancipation program would have increased the national debt to about $125 million.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023