national debt

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noun

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

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Also called public debt.

Origin of national debt

An Americanism dating back to 1775–85

Words nearby national debt

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use national debt in a sentence

As political scientist Sarah Kreps has written, we used to finance wars via taxes, but today, we finance wars by adding to the national debt.
Why The Domestic Political Fallout From The Afghanistan War Is So Hard To Assess|Sarah Frostenson (sarah.frostenson@abc.com)|August 19, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
When politicians discuss the national debt, the conversation usually centers on raising taxes or cutting spending.
A Radical Idea to Address the Deficit: Enforce Tax Laws|Angus King|April 14, 2021|Time
He pledged to eliminate the national debt within eight years but, after four, expanded it by one of the highest rates in history.
The GOP’s earmarks evolution says a lot about its Trumpian turn|Aaron Blake|March 18, 2021|Washington Post
He didn't argue that it would hurt the economy, or get wasted, or penalize today's toddler once they had to confront the national debt.
The Trailer: What the stimulus means for the next campaign|David Weigel|March 11, 2021|Washington Post

While Sanders has declared some concern about a national debt that has soared past $20 trillion, his greater worry is about an American underclass that the federal government is failing to help.
Gavel in hand, Bernie Sanders lays out an unabashedly liberal economic agenda|Mike DeBonis|February 19, 2021|Washington Post
Yes, gridlock frustration and national debt nausea are understandable.
Flushing Money Down the Tea Party Toilet|Tom Dougherty|August 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He says he plans to focus on the national debt and budget issues, government and tax reform.
Candidates in Maine, Nebraska, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C., Challenge Republicans and Democrats Alike|Linda Killian|July 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Twitter, like the national debt or Lindsay Lohans's sobriety, is in a constant state of flux.
A Song of Twitter and George R.R. Martin: The Unexpected Players of the Twitterverse|Amy Zimmerman|June 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The biggest chunk of that goes to pay interest on the national debt.
Here’s Where Your Tax Dollars Go|CNBC|April 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But two failed wars and a massive national debt have made their ultra-expensive, ultra-bloody foreign policy vision untenable.
Why Doesn’t Anyone Care About the Rising U.S.-China Tension?|Peter Beinart|December 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Reduction of national debt, whatever arrangements may be made for it, can only be effected by taxation.
The Political History of England - Vol. X.|William Hunt
And the check; it did not resemble in size the national debt, as dinner checks usually do in America.
My Wonderful Visit|Charlie Chaplin
Will not the national debt itself be the means, at least a temptation to continue, if not increase the luxury?
The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Vol. IV (of 12)|Various
To raise such a sum seemed as impossible to poor Judith as to pay the National Debt.
Yorkshire Oddities, Incidents and Strange Events|S. Baring-Gould
Though the war had added a hundred millions to the national debt, the burden was hardly felt.
History of the English People, Volume VIII (of 8)|John Richard Green

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

Cultural definitions for national debt

national debt

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

notes for national debt

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

national debt

Origin of national debt

Words nearby national debt

Words related to national debt

How to use national debt in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for national debt

Cultural definitions for national debt

notes for national debt