public debt

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noun

national debt.

Origin of public debt

First recorded in 1715–25

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for public debt

public debt

noun mainly US

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

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