creditor

noun

cred·​i·​tor ˈkre-di-tər 

-ˌtȯr

: one to whom a debt is owed

especially : a person to whom money or goods are due

Examples of creditor in a Sentence

She owes thousands of dollars to creditors.

Recent Examples on the Web

The lawsuit, filed last week in the state Supreme Court in Manhattan, accuses Bob Weinstein of withdrawing at least $6 million from company accounts under false pretenses, to give himself priority over creditors including AI International. —Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 20 Feb. 2025

None of the dozens of entities and people listed as creditors of Ms. Schiff in court filings responded personally to requests for comment. —Sarah Maslin Nir, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025

The company’s top unsecured creditor is Amazon holding a claim of nearly $29.4 million. —Vicki M. Young, Sourcing Journal, 4 Feb. 2025

Major creditors: Medtronic USA, Atlanta, $165,155; J & J Heath Care Systems Inc., Atlanta, $135,724; GAHC3 Mount Dora LLC, Chicago, $119,686. —Orlando Sentinel Staff, Orlando Sentinel, 16 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for creditor

• editor
• predator
• coeditor

Kids Definition

creditor

noun

cred·​i·​tor ˈkred-ət-ər 

: a person to whom a debt is owed

Legal Definition

creditor

noun

cred·​i·​tor ˈkre-də-tər, -ˌtȯr 

: a person to whom a debt is owed

especially : a person to whom money or goods are due compare debtor, obligor

— general creditor

: a creditor who is not secured by a lien or other security interest

called also unsecured creditor

— judgment creditor

: a creditor who has a money judgment entered against the debtor and may enforce the judgment (as by attachment or writ of execution)

— known creditor

: a creditor whose potential claim is known or should be known by a debtor and who is entitled to notice of a corporate dissolution or of a date at which claims will be barred (as in bankruptcy)

— lien creditor

: a creditor who is secured by a lien (as by attachment)

— secured creditor

: a creditor who has a security interest (as a mortgage)

— unsecured creditor

: general creditor in this entry