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

Both the documentary and Farhadi’s fiction film share the same basic story of an inmate in debtors’ prison who, while on leave, finds a bag of gold coins and struggles with the decision to keep the money or return it. —Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2024

Poverty Hollow was a debtors’ work farm and is now, because time has a sense of humor, the site of some of the town’s most McMansion-y developments. —Clare Beams, Peoplemag, 7 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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.”