debt
/ˈdɛt/noun
debt is spelled D-E-B-T: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 49 times per million words in written English, the 2,072nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, debt means “An action, state of mind, or object one has an obligation to perform for another, adopt toward another, or give to another” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of debt is debts.
How many letters and syllables are in debt?
| Letters | 4: D-E-B-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 49 times per million words; the 2,072nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is debt?
Debt appears 49 times per million words in written English, the 2,072nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce debt?
- /ˈdɛt/
- [ˈdɛt]
- /ˈdɛbt/
Debt has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-debt.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of debt
- debts plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does debt mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An action, state of mind, or object one has an obligation to perform for another, adopt toward another, or give to another.
- 2
The state or condition of owing something to another.
I am in your debt.
- 3
Money that one person or entity owes or is required to pay to another, generally as a result of a loan or other financial transaction.
- 4
An action at law to recover a certain specified sum of money alleged to be due
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Debt in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | dette |
| German | Schuld, Verbindlichkeit, Verpflichtung , Schulden |
| Portuguese | dívida, débito |
| Spanish | deuda , pufo, débito, adeudo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does debt come from?
From Middle English dette, dett, borrowed from Old French dete (French dette), from Medieval Latin dēbita, from Latin dēbitum (“what is owed, a debt, a duty”), neuter of dēbitus, perfect passive participle of dēbeō (“to owe”), contraction of *dehibeō (“I have from”), from de (“from”) + habeō (“to have”). Doublet of debit. Displaced native Old English eofot. The unpronounced "b" in the modern English spelling is a Latinisation from the Latin etymon dēbitum.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).