[noun] [C] - abbreviation for I owe you (= a written promise to pay back money owed)We don't accept IOUs - no cash, no goods!(figurative) Later in the film the hero presents an IOU for his earlier help by asking to keep some of the jewels he found.
IOU
Meaning of IOU in English
Cambridge English vocab. Кембриджский английский словарь. 2012