debit

1 of 2

verb

deb·​it ˈde-bət 

debited; debiting; debits

transitive verb

: to enter upon the debit side of an account : charge with a debit

debit

2 of 2

noun

1

a

: a record of an indebtedness

specifically : an entry on the left-hand side of an account constituting an addition to an expense or asset account or a deduction from a revenue, net worth, or liability account

b

: the sum of the items entered as debits

2

: a charge against a bank deposit account

3

: drawback, shortcoming

Synonyms

Noun

• disadvantage
• disbenefit
• downside
• drawback
• handicap
• incommodity
• liability
• minus
• negative
• strike

Examples of debit in a Sentence

Verb

The bank mistakenly debited my account $200!

Your account will automatically be debited for the amount of your insurance bill every month.

Noun

I forgot to enter some of the debits in my bank account register.

The account's credits were added and the debits subtracted.

a $30 debit for groceries

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Swipe fees have become a more prominent issue for retailers as consumers have shifted away from cash to debit and credit cards and racked up more purchases that require use of payment networks that take a cut of every sale. —Austin Denean, Baltimore Sun, 20 Nov. 2024

By the time people realized their account had been debited, reflecting the FBAR penalty, the IRS had already collected the funds, and the bank had already been fully reimbursed. —Robert Goulder, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024

Noun

In December, rent jumped 7.5% annually in the zip codes, or neighborhoods, with the lowest average rents, according to the Bank of America Institute’s analysis of check, debit, credit card and other types of rent payments by tens of millions of customers. —Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 3 Mar. 2025

Antenna’s data comes from a variety of sources, including digital purchase and cancellation receipts, consumer subscription signals, credit, debit and banking data reflecting the behavior of roughly 2 million consumers. —Dade Hayes, Deadline, 25 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Latin debitum debt

First Known Use

Verb

1668, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1746, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing debit

• debit card
• direct debit
• on the debit side

Kids Definition

debit

1 of 2 verb

deb·​it ˈdeb-ət 

: to enter as a debit : charge with or as a debt

debit

2 of 2 noun

: an entry in an account representing an amount paid out or owed