credit

[ kred-it ]
See synonyms for: creditcreditedcredits on Thesaurus.com
noun

  1. commendation or honor given for some action, quality, etc.: The charity deserves credit for helping many poor families make ends meet during the recession.

  2. a source of pride or honor: You are a credit to your school.

  1. the ascription or acknowledgment of something as due or properly attributable to a person, institution, etc.: He got credit for research actually done by his colleague.It is always best to give credit where credit’s due.

  2. Usually credits .

    • acknowledgment of a person’s contribution to the making of a movie or television program, typically displayed in a list that scrolls down the screen at the beginning or end: She got screen credits for photography.

    • a similar acknowledgment in a publication: The paper’s policy is to list credits for theater productions at the end of reviews.

  3. trustworthiness; credibility: a witness of credit.

  4. influence or authority resulting from the confidence of others or from one's reputation.

  5. favorable repute; reputation; esteem.

  6. Finance.

    • reputation of solvency and honesty, entitling a person or business to be trusted in buying or borrowing: Your credit is good.

    • an agreement to entrust a buyer with goods or services without immediate payment, based on confidence in the buyer’s ability and intention to pay: She bought the air conditioner on credit with no money down.

    • the time allowed for payment of goods or services obtained on trust: 90 days' credit.

    • an amount of money that a financial institution lends or makes available to a client, to be repaid typically in monthly installments including interest: The bank extended the couple credit to finance the remodeling of their home.

  7. a sum of money due to a person; anything valuable standing on the credit side of an account against which a person may draw: He has a store credit of $50.

  8. Education.

    • official acceptance and recording of the work completed by a student in a particular course of study.

    • one unit of academic credit; a credit hour.

  9. Bookkeeping.

    • an entry of payment or value received on an account.

    • the right-hand side of an account on which such entries are made (opposed to debit).

    • an entry, or the total shown, on the credit side.

verb (used with object)

  1. to believe; put confidence in; have faith in; trust.

  2. to bring honor, esteem, etc., to; reflect well upon.

  1. Bookkeeping. to enter upon the credit side of an account; give credit for or to.

  2. Education. to award educational credits to (often followed by with): They credited me with three hours in history.

Verb Phrases

  1. credit to / with to ascribe to a (thing, person, etc.): In former times many herbs were credited with healing powers.

Idioms about credit

  1. do someone credit, to be a source of honor or distinction for someone.: Also do credit to someone.

  2. to one's credit, deserving of praise or recognition; admirable: It is to his credit that he freely admitted his guilt.

Origin of credit

1
First recorded in 1525–35; from Middle French credit “belief, trust, reputation, esteem, money lent or borrowed,” from Old Italian credito “financial transaction with payment deferred,” from Latin crēditum “loan, debt,” noun use of neuter of crēditus, past participle of crēdere “to believe, confide, entrust, give credit”

synonym study For credit

8a. Credit, repute, reputation, standing refer to one's status in the estimation of a community. Credit refers to business and financial status and the amount of money for which a person will be trusted. Repute is particularly what is reported about someone, the favor in which the person is held, etc.: a man of fine repute among his acquaintances. Reputation is the moral and other character commonly ascribed to someone: of unblemished reputation. Standing is one's position in a community, or rank and condition in life: a man of good standing and education.

Other words from credit

  • cred·it·less, adjective
  • o·ver·cred·it, verb
  • pre·cred·it, verb (used with object)
  • su·per·cred·it, noun
  • un·cred·it·ed, adjective
  • well-cred·it·ed, adjective

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

How to use credit in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for credit

credit

/ (ˈkrɛdɪt) /

noun

  1. commendation or approval, as for an act or quality: she was given credit for her work

  2. a person or thing serving as a source of good influence, repute, ability, etc: a credit to the team

  1. the quality of being believable or trustworthy: that statement had credit

  2. influence or reputation coming from the approval or good opinion of others: he acquired credit within the community

  3. belief in the truth, reliability, quality, etc, of someone or something: I would give credit to that philosophy

  4. a sum of money or equivalent purchasing power, as at a shop, available for a person's use

    • the positive balance in a person's bank account

    • the sum of money that a bank makes available to a client in excess of any deposit

    • the practice of permitting a buyer to receive goods or services before payment

    • the time permitted for paying for such goods or services

  7. reputation for solvency and commercial or financial probity, inducing confidence among creditors

  8. accounting

    • acknowledgment of an income, liability, or capital item by entry on the right-hand side of an account

    • the right-hand side of an account

    • an entry on this side

    • the total of such entries

    • (as modifier): credit entries Compare debit (def. 1)

  9. short for tax credit

  10. education

    • a distinction awarded to an examination candidate obtaining good marks

    • a section of an examination syllabus satisfactorily completed, as in higher and professional education

  11. letter of credit an order authorizing a named person to draw money from correspondents of the issuer

  12. on credit with payment to be made at a future date

verb-its, -iting or -ited (tr)

  1. (foll by with) to ascribe (to); give credit (for): they credited him with the discovery

  2. to accept as true; believe

  1. to do credit to

  2. accounting

    • to enter (an item) as a credit in an account

    • to acknowledge (a payer) by making such an entry: Compare debit (def. 2)

  3. to award a credit to (a student)

Origin of credit

1
C16: from Old French crédit, from Italian credito, from Latin crēditum loan, from crēdere to believe

Derived forms of credit

  • creditless, adjective

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 credit

credit

The ability to obtain goods, money, or services in return for a promise to pay at some later date.

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.

Other Idioms and Phrases with credit

credit

see do someone proud (credit to); extend credit to; get credit for; give credit where credit is due.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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