Debt

/ˈdɛt/ · noun

Meaning

An action, state of mind, or object one has an obligation to perform for another, adopt toward another, or give to another..

Definitions by Sense

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. (finance) 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. (law) An action at law to recover a certain specified sum of money alleged to be due

Example Sentences

Revenge the jeering and disdain'd contempt / Of this proud king, who studies day and night / To answer all the debt he owes to you / Even with the bloody payment of your deaths.

This long debt of confidence, due from me to him, whose bane and ruin I have been, shall at length be paid.

I am in your debt.

The petty ſtreames that paie a dailie det / To their ſalt ſoveraigne with their freſh fals haſt, / Adde to his flowe, but alter not his taſt.

Hey! Wait! I've got a new complaint / Forever in debt to your priceless advice

Bolsheviki had repudiated the four-billion-dollar debt which the government of the Tsar had contracted with the bankers.

Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers. Piling debt onto companies’ balance-sheets is only a small part of what leveraged buy-outs are about, they insist. Improving the workings of the businesses they take over is just as core to their calling, if not more so. Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster.

I don't own any stocks or bonds. All my money is tied up in debt.

Synonyms for debt

Antonyms for debt

Related Words

Word Forms

• debts
• dette
• det

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

Practice and Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions