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

This omnibus pledge can have the effect of rendering the debtor insolvent such that any transfer that the debtor tries to make for asset protection purposes is voidable by a creditor. —Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025

Chronic debtors across Russia have been the focus of a concentrated campaign from the Federal Bailiff Service. —Neil MacFarquhar, New York Times, 30 Dec. 2024

In Oklahoma, Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt mentioned the need to create better outcomes through fines and fees reform, plus possibly abolishing debtors prisons. —Taylor Millard, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 21 Mar. 2025

That process includes using a Cross-Servicing debtor dispute form that the taxpayers submit to the Department of Treasury to dispute the debt. —Ross Rosenfeld, Newsweek, 25 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for debtor

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

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.”