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

Debt, History of From debtors' prison to student loan debt, six stories from the archive. —JSTOR Daily, 8 Jan. 2025

Owners who do not pay their dues become a burden on their fellow association members, who must end up paying the delinquent owner’s share of the expenses while the debtor continues to benefit from the maintenance of their property value resulting from those expenditures. —Michael L. Hyman, Miami Herald, 2 Jan. 2025

The current government, headed by Wickremasinghe has been in power since 2022 and negotiated with creditors and secured an extended fund facility (EFF) program with the country’s major debtor, the International Monetary Fund (IMF). —Avi Kumar, Fox News, 21 Sep. 2024

Some argue that as a debtor nation, the U.S. is ill-suited for an SWF, which typically are associated with countries running surpluses. —James Broughel, Forbes, 10 Sep. 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.”