Okuzeka
Finance & Banking vocabulary · Loans & Credit

Debt

Meaning in finance & banking, with examples

/det/nounCore term

In finance & banking, debt means: Money that a person, company or government has borrowed and must pay back, usually with interest.

In Turkish: borç, borçluluk

How it is used

One of the most common words in banking. People get into debt, pay off or clear their debts, and banks look at a customer's total debt before lending. Companies compare debt with equity or EBITDA. 'Bad debt' is money that will probably never be repaid.

Example sentences

  1. The company used part of the IPO proceeds to reduce its debt.

  2. Before we approve the loan, we need to see all your existing debts.

Common collocations

  • get into debt
  • pay off a debt
  • debt burden
  • bad debt
  • debt collection
  • loanMoney that a bank or another lender gives to a person or company, which must be paid back over time, usually with interest.
  • borrowerA person or organisation that receives money from a lender and agrees to pay it back, usually with interest.
  • leverageUsing borrowed money to finance assets or investments, or the level of a company's debt compared with its equity or earnings.
  • restructuringChanging the terms of a loan, such as the maturity, instalments or interest, because the borrower has difficulty paying; also the reorganisation of a whole company.
  • repaymentThe act of paying back money you have borrowed, or one of the regular amounts you pay to do this.

More terms: Loans & Credit

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level:

This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not financial advice.