creditor

noun

cred·​i·​tor ˈkre-di-tər 

-ˌtȯr

: one to whom a debt is owed

especially : a person to whom money or goods are due

Examples of creditor in a Sentence

She owes thousands of dollars to creditors.

Recent Examples on the Web

In some cases, your lender may even pay your creditors directly. — Dan Avery, CNBC, 15 Sep. 2026

After all, both federal and state laws can restrict what creditors are allowed to take from a bank account. — Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 15 Sep. 2026

The process that would protect the district from creditors but would not automatically provide the cash needed to keep operating, Fine said. — Chaewon Chung, Sacbee.com, 14 Sep. 2026

The court papers say outstanding debts total between $500 million and $1 billion to between 1,000 and 5,000 creditors and there is uncertainty over how much of that can be recovered. — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for creditor

• editor
• predator
• coeditor

Kids Definition

creditor

noun

cred·​i·​tor ˈkred-ət-ər 

: a person to whom a debt is owed

Legal Definition

creditor

noun

cred·​i·​tor ˈkre-də-tər, -ˌtȯr 

: a person to whom a debt is owed

especially : a person to whom money or goods are due compare debtor, obligor

— general creditor

: a creditor who is not secured by a lien or other security interest

called also unsecured creditor

— judgment creditor

: a creditor who has a money judgment entered against the debtor and may enforce the judgment (as by attachment or writ of execution)

— known creditor

: a creditor whose potential claim is known or should be known by a debtor and who is entitled to notice of a corporate dissolution or of a date at which claims will be barred (as in bankruptcy)

— lien creditor

: a creditor who is secured by a lien (as by attachment)

— secured creditor

: a creditor who has a security interest (as a mortgage)

— unsecured creditor

: general creditor in this entry