/det/
#1675 of 5,000 Core 5000
Translation
Money that you owe to someone and have to pay back. The b is silent.
Word origin
From Old French dette, from Latin debitum, a thing owed. English first wrote it dette, and later writers put the b back in to show the Latin root, which is why we still spell a letter we never say.
- Origin
- Old French
- Root
- debitum
- English cognates
- debit, due
Grammar
Gender
Pluraldebts
Examples
.
To "pay off a debt" is to give back all the money you owe.
.
To be "in debt" is to owe money you cannot pay yet.
.
A "debt" can be something you owe that is not money.
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Go to my review queueThis word is part of lesson 34.