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

Thus, the only way that such a creditor would know in advance of a lawsuit that the judgment might be uncollectable would be if the debtor went out of her way to tell the creditor that. —Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2025

The company’s largest creditor is Seiwald and her husband, Rodney, who lent the business over $1 million combined. —Max Scheinblum, Denver Post, 19 Aug. 2025

Companies, colleges and churches with alleged links to David Jang's Olivet Christian sect are being sued by a creditor who is claiming at least $8.6 million in damages over allegations of racketeering and wire fraud. —Alex J. Rouhandeh naveed Jamali, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Aug. 2025

It was taken over by creditors Elliott Management Corporation and Monarch Alternative Capital, who eliminated $1.9 billion of debt. —Ryan Baker, CNBC, 11 Aug. 2025

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