national debt
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noun
the financial obligations of a national government resulting from deficit spending.
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On the farm, the feed for chicks is significantly different from the roosters’; ______ not even comparable.
Also called public debt.
Origin of national debt
An Americanism dating back to 1775–85
Words nearby national debt
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for national debt
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.
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.