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debt

noun

ˈdet How to pronounce debt (audio)
Definition of debtnext
1
as in obligation
something (as money) which is owed he filed for bankruptcy when his debts exceeded his assets

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in crime
a breaking of a moral or legal code forgive us our debts

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of debt So is a call from a debt collector about a debt that does not belong to you. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 5 Sep. 2026 Opposition leaders say Meloni’s government has yet to find concrete ways to stimulate long-term economic growth beyond just controlling public debt and state deficits. — Silvia Stellacci, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026 Athletics took on some debt to the tune of about $115 million. — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 4 Sep. 2026 All of these projects can collectively overburden a business with compliance debt. — Keegan Crage, Forbes.com, 4 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for debt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debt
  1. obligation
  2. crime
  3. score
  4. sin
  5. indebtedness
  6. violation
  7. bankruptcy
Noun
  • That calculation can reveal a sizable amount of informal self-insurance that never received the same planning, funding or governance as other financial obligations.
    — Randy Sadler, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Bankruptcy could also put the district’s collective bargaining agreements at risk and potentially interfere with pension obligations.
    — Chaewon Chung, Sacbee.com, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of obligation
Noun
  • At the end of August, Peru declared a 60-day state of emergency in Lima and the port of Callao due to the rise in crime and created a committee of officials to coordinate the police.
    — MATTHEW LEE, Arkansas Online, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Elements of supernatural fantasy mingle with the beats of a crime procedural as the sisters become the subjects of an investigation.
    — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of crime
Noun
  • Jonesboro is 2-0 for the first time since 2019 and should have four quarters of confidence after back-to-back one-score wins.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 9 Sep. 2026
  • That in turn feeds ‘The Ticker’, the basic on-screen representation of the score and ‘The Computer’, another programme that turns that raw information into the more intricate graphics that appear on the screen.
    — Nick Miller, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of score
Noun
  • Any union that turns a blind eye when their own members commit that same sin is an embarrassment to organized labor.
    — Levi Weaver, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • For one thing covetousness, as opposed to the more concrete sins like theft or murder or adultery, is a thought crime, and almost all that goes on here, happens within the minds of the characters.
    — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of sin
Noun
  • And according to a European intelligence report this past June, Russian lenders are vulnerable due to soaring indebtedness and deteriorating loans.
    — Jason Ma, Fortune, 23 Aug. 2026
  • The lack of access to institutional credit and chronic indebtedness is also seen by some researchers as a contributing factor to the phenomenon of farmer suicides in rural India.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of indebtedness
Noun
  • Under Arkansas law, anyone selling alcohol on a Sunday without a permit can be found guilty of a violation fined up to $250.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Both men were denied parole last year, in part because of their use of contraband cellphones and other violations of prison rules.
    — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of violation
Noun
  • Answer some basic questions about your financial history, like late mortgage payments, foreclosures and bankruptcies.
    — Dan Simms, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The leases of nearly 60 other locations remain to be sold off as part of the bankruptcy proceedings.
    — John Magsam Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas Online, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of bankruptcy

Browse Nearby Words

debs
debt
debts
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Cite this Entry

“Debt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debt. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on debt

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about debt

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