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

Calvo is taking an aggressive stance in seeking to collect outstanding balances from the debtors, including the hospitals, arguing that the city cannot continue allowing large private institutions to accumulate unpaid debt while enforcing strict payment rules on residents. —Verónica Egui Brito, Miami Herald, 15 May 2026

Years of current-account deficits accumulate into debtor positions; years of surpluses accumulate into creditor positions. —James Broughel, Forbes.com, 10 May 2026

Once that judgment is entered, the creditor may be able to ask the court to allow wages to be garnished, liens to be placed on property or bank account funds connected to the debtor to be frozen. —Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 6 May 2026

Liverano — whose criminal history spans 40 years and includes a manslaughter conviction for fatally shooting a night security guard at a Bensonhurst diner — is accused of running a loanshark business that used threats of violence to make sure debtors paid up. —John Annese, New York Daily News, 29 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for debtor

• better
• bettor
• fetter
• getter
• letter
• netter
• petter
• rhetor
• setter
• sweater
• tetter
• vetter

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.”