public debt

American  

noun

1. national debt.

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public debt British  

noun

1. the total financial obligations incurred by all governmental bodies of a nation

2. another name for national debt

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Etymology

Origin of public debt

First recorded in 1715–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

public debt

As a result, almost 33% of U.S. public debt will mature in a year or less, and another 35% within five years, according to Treasury data.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

“Suppose the sovereign remains solvent and its debt remains safe. Can a larger stock of safe public debt nevertheless become a drag on aggregate demand?”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026

Total public debt outstanding officially passed the $40 trillion mark last week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

The country’s “total public debt outstanding” officially hit $40.047 trillion, the Treasury Department reported—a threshold that carries symbolic weight but isn’t, by itself, economically significant.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

Public money was spent recklessly; taxation became oppressive; and the public debt grew to alarming size.

From Liberty In The Nineteenth Century by Frederic May Holland