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# debt

«debt» in Mova's school dictionary: **money that you owe to someone** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a debt, debts; debt, uncountable)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A debt is money that you owe to someone. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/debt/#m1)

2) Debt is the state of owing money (be in debt). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/debt/#m2)

3) A debt of gratitude is a feeling that you owe someone thanks for their help. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/debt/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In maths and money lessons, a debt can be shown as a negative number: if you have £5 and owe £8, you are £3 in debt. In everyday life, borrowing on a credit card or loan creates debt that must be paid back, usually with interest. Phrases: in debt, out of debt, pay off a debt, owe a debt, get into debt.

### examples

- He paid back his debt to his sister. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/debt/#x1)
- If you borrow money, you are in debt. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/debt/#x2)
- It took them years to get out of debt. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/debt/#x3)
- I owe you a debt of gratitude for helping me. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/debt/#x4)
- If I have £2 and owe £5, my debt is £3. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/debt/#x5)
- Credit cards can lead people into debt. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/debt/#x6)
- The company had huge debts. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/debt/#x7)
- “We will pay your debts,” they said. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/debt/#x8)

### note

Countable (a debt, debts) and uncountable (in debt). The «b» is silent: DET. Trap: «in debt» means you owe money; a debt is like a negative amount, so paying it off brings you back to zero.

### In the corpora

- [Debt is money that has been borrowed and is still owed.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/8-borrowing-and-debt/0/)
- [Most adults have some, like a mortgage or a car loan, and planned debt can be fine.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/8-borrowing-and-debt/1/)
- [Debt becomes a problem when the repayments are more than the family can afford.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/8-borrowing-and-debt/3/)
- [Debt is common and can be sorted.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/8-borrowing-and-debt/9/)
- [The minimum payment barely covers the interest, so paying only the minimum keeps a debt going for years.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/8-borrowing-and-debt/13/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «debt» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/debt/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.