English Explanatory Dictionary

debt

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. An action, state of mind, or object one has an obligation to perform for another, adopt toward another, or give to another.
  2. The state or condition of owing something to another.
  3. Money that one person or entity owes or is required to pay to another, generally as a result of a loan or other financial transaction.
  4. An action at law to recover a certain specified sum of money alleged to be due

Pronunciation

/ˈdɛt/ [ˈdɛt] en-us-debt.ogg /ˈdɛbt/ /ˈdɛp(t)/

Word forms

debt debts dette det

Etymology

From Middle English dette, dett, borrowed from Old French dete (French dette), from Medieval Latin dēbita, from Latin dēbitum (“what is owed, a debt, a duty”), neuter of dēbitus, perfect passive participle of dēbeō (“to owe”), contraction of *dehibeō (“I have from”), from de (“from”) + habeō (“to have”). Doublet of debit. The unpronounced "b" in the modern English spelling is a Latinisation from the Latin etymon dēbitum.

Related words

debit debitor debtor indebted owe

Derived words

acquisition debt antidebt bad debt bonded debt book debt carbon debt collateralized debt obligation debt bondage debt burden debt ceiling debt collection debt collector debted debtee debt enforcement debt-equity ratio debt exchange debt-financed debt-for-nature debt-free debtholder debt instrument debt-laden debtless debtlike debt obligation debt of honor debt of honour debt of nature debt release debt relief debt-ridden debt slave debt slavery debt trap debt trap diplomacy dequity domestic debt European debt crisis external debt foreign debt government debt in debt in someone's debt karmic debt margin debt megadebt mezzanine debt national debt nondebt nonfinancial debt odious debt oxygen debt pay nature's debt pay one's debt to society pay the debt of nature phantom debt privileged debt public debt robo-debt
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