indebted

adjective

in·​debt·​ed in-ˈde-təd 

1

: owing gratitude or recognition to another : beholden

I'm indebted to you for your help.

2

: owing money

Synonyms of indebted

• obligated

Examples of indebted in a Sentence

thereafter forever felt indebted to the producer for giving her her lucky break

Recent Examples on the Web

When one friend is habitually the payer, others may feel grateful, indebted, infantilized or even relieved. —Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 20 Jan. 2026

Those unfunded obligations, according to Lamont’s budget office, still top $33 billion, leaving Connecticut one of the most indebted states in the nation. —Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 13 Jan. 2026

Even without overt political pressure, a heavily indebted democracy is one that limits its own monetary choices. —Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 13 Jan. 2026

At the time, the Caribbean nation was heavily indebted to France after being forced to pay restitution for its 1804 independence, and had a small German class dominating its commercial business interests. —Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 5 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English indetted, from Anglo-French endetté, past participle of endetter to run into debt, from en- + dette debt

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for indebted

• abetted
• brevetted
• gazetted
• pigmented
• pileated
• pipetted
• regretted
• rivetted
• unheated
• carburetted
• silhouetted
• fetid

Kids Definition

indebted

adjective

in·​debt·​ed in-ˈdet-əd 

: being in debt : owing something (as money or gratitude)