debt to society

idiom

—used in phrases such as pay your debt to society to refer to being punished for committing a crime

After 10 years in prison, he has paid his debt to society and is a free man.

Examples of debt to society in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This role is a chance to offer second chances and restore hope to individuals who have paid their debt to society. —Matt Robison, Newsweek, 24 Feb. 2025

None of that negates the crime that was committed, nor the debt to society that must be paid. —Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 11 Feb. 2025

Her significant other is doing life in prison for murder – unlike Rep. Pressley’s husband, who paid his debt to society with a 10-year sentence for drug trafficking. —Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 24 Apr. 2024

However, for many, pardons or commutations of sentences come years after serving time in prison and hardly have the effect of forgiveness when a debt to society has already been paid. —Walter Pavlo, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024

Erik and Lyle Menendez no longer pose a public safety risk and have paid their debt to society, Gascón told reporters. —Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 9 Nov. 2024

But with new admissible evidence emerging, another question lingers: have the country’s most notorious bad boys of Beverly Hills, Erik and Lyle Menendez, finally paid their debt to society? —Jeetendr Sehdev, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024

For now, Fetty has to pay his debt to society while plotting his comeback. —Angel Diaz, Billboard, 22 Apr. 2024

Rhymes for debt to society

• contrariety
• impropriety
• inebriety
• notoriety
• antianxiety
• intersociety
• anxiety
• impiety
• propriety
• satiety
• sobriety
• variety