debt service

noun

: the amount of interest and sinking fund payments due annually on long-term debt

Examples of debt service in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
The property tax rate will not change, but the bond will add to the district’s debt services paid by taxpayers. Alecia Taylor, Kansas City Star, 9 Apr. 2025 By 2030, mandatory federal spending and debt service are projected to consume all government revenue. Becca Bratcher, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025 But entitlement programs and debt service represent more than 72 percent of the federal budget, while only 12 percent is devoted to discretionary spending—where virtually all of the present cuts are taking place—and even less of it, about 6 percent, to the cost of the federal workforce. Harpers Magazine, 26 Mar. 2025 State law calls for the rate to be set at an amount sufficient to repay the annual debt service. Bryan P. Sears, Baltimore Sun, 14 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for debt service

Word History

First Known Use

1929, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of debt service was in 1929

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Cite this Entry

“Debt service.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/debt%20service. Accessed 11 May. 2025.

Legal Definition

debt service

noun
: the amount of interest and principal payments due annually on long-term debt
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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