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public debt

See more synonyms for public debt on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. national debt.

Origin of public debt

First recorded in 1715–25
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for public debt

public debt

noun mainly US
  1. the total financial obligations incurred by all governmental bodies of a nation
  2. another name for national 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