definitions

national debt

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR national debt ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

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Nearby words

national conference of christians and jews, national convention, national country party, national covenant, national curriculum, national debt, national economic development council, national endowment for the arts, national endowment for the humanities, national enterprise board, national forest

Origin of national debt

An Americanism dating back to 1775–85
Also called public debt.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for national debt

national debt

noun

the total outstanding borrowings of a nation's central governmentAlso called (esp US): public 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

Culture definitions for national debt

national debt

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

Note

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