What is debt?

  • (noun): An obligation to pay or do something.
    See also — Additional definitions below

Debt

A debt is an obligation owed by one party (the debtor) to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.

Read more about Debt.

Some articles on debt:

Ottoman Public Debt
... The Ottoman public debt was a term which dated back to 4 August 1854, when the Ottoman Empire first entered into loan contracts with its European creditors shortly after the beginning of the ... imperial administration's willingness to constantly refinance its debts ... Muharrem which reduced the overall public debt, the Ottoman Public Debt Administration was established ...
Tier 2 Capital - Subordinated Term Debt
... Subordinated debt is debt that ranks lower than ordinary depositors of the bank ... Only those with a minimum original term to maturity of five years can be included in the calculation of this form of capital they must be subject to proper amortization arrangements ...
Consumer Debt
... In economics, consumer debt is outstanding debt of consumers, as opposed to businesses or governments ... In macroeconomic terms, it is debt which is used to fund consumption rather than investment ... It includes debts incurred on purchase of goods that are consumable and/or do not appreciate ...
Credit Card - Costs - Charge Offs
... When a consumer becomes severely delinquent on a debt (often at the point of six months without payment), the creditor may declare the debt to be a charge-off ... "written off as uncollectable." To banks, bad debts and even fraud are simply part of the cost of doing business ... However, the debt is still legally valid, and the creditor can attempt to collect the full amount for the time periods permitted under state law, which is usually 3 to 7 years ...
Debt - Levels and Flows
... Global debt underwriting grew 4.3% year-over-year to $5.19 trillion during 2004 ... It is expected to rise in the coming years if the spending habits of millions of people worldwide continue the way they do ...

More definitions of "debt":

  • (noun): Money or goods or services owed by one person to another.
  • (noun): The state of owing something (especially money).
    Example: "He is badly in debt"

Famous quotes containing the word debt:

    Ambition’s debt is paid.
    William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

    Good government cannot be found on the bargain-counter. We have seen samples of bargain-counter government in the past when low tax rates were secured by increasing the bonded debt for current expenses or refusing to keep our institutions up to the standard in repairs, extensions, equipment, and accommodations. I refuse, and the Republican Party refuses, to endorse that method of sham and shoddy economy.
    Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933)

    I wish the days to be as centuries, loaded, fragrant. Now we reckon them as bank-days, by some debt which is to be paid us, or which we are to pay, or some pleasure we are to taste.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)