debit
/ˈdɛb.ɪt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.62 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A sum of money taken out of a bank account. Thus called, because in bank's bookkeeping a cash withdrawal diminishes the amount of money held on the account, i.e. bank's debt to the customer.
Countable; Uncountable
verb
To make an entry on the debit side of an account.
verb
To record a receivable in the bookkeeping.
adj
of or relating to the debit card function of a debit card rather than its often available credit card function
Example Sentences
- "A cash sale is recorded as debit on the cash account and as credit on the sales account."
- "The economist also observed that some of the Victoria Line's cost should be debited to existing lines, as they would benefit from the rebuilding of their interchange stations with the new tube."
- "We shall debit your account for the amount of the purchase."
- "We shall debit the amount of your purchase to your account."
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French debet, from Latin debitum (“what is owed, a debt”), neuter of debitus, past participle of debere (“to owe”); Doublet of debt.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *gʰeh₁bʰ-, debitum
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Finance.