debtor

noun

debt·​or ˈde-tər 

1

: one guilty of neglect or violation of duty

2

: one who owes a debt

Examples of debtor in a Sentence

The debtor agrees to pay the debt over a three-year period.

Recent Examples on the Web

Additionally, usury caps on auto loans need to be strictly enforced, and the backdoor loopholes to debtors’ prisons should be closed. —Jack McCordick, The New Republic, 13 Sep. 2023

This article has been updated with Figure as well as FTX debtors’ decisions to not comment on the filing. —Ben Weiss, Fortune Crypto, 11 Sep. 2023

But 22 percent of credit card debtors who make at least $100,000 cite vacation and or entertainment expenses as the primary culprit. —Michelle Singletary, Washington Post, 8 Aug. 2023

The decision may have ramifications for hundreds of debtors in Georgia each year. —Margaret Coker, ProPublica, 13 July 2023

Everyone understands it — everyone, apparently, except the debtors [Diamond]. —Brad Adgate, Forbes, 21 Apr. 2023

The debtors also claimed that FTX’s expenses and invoices were submitted on a Slack channel and approved via emoji. —Will Daniel, Fortune, 10 Apr. 2023

Egypt, which is facing its own economic crisis, is the IMF’s second largest debtor. —Nectar Gan, CNN, 28 Aug. 2023

To try to avoid repossession, some debtors turn to Chapter 13 bankruptcy. —Margaret Coker, ProPublica, 13 July 2023

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Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

debtor

noun

debt·​or ˈdet-ər 

1

: sinner

2

: one that owes a debt

Legal Definition

debtor

noun

debt·​or

: a person who owes a debt see also bankrupt compare creditor, obligee, obligor

Note: The Bankruptcy Act of 1978 calls the person concerned in a bankruptcy case the “debtor” as opposed to the “bankrupt.”