(~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
A ~ is a sum of money that you owe someone.
Three years later, he is still paying off his ~s...
...reducing the country’s $18 billion foreign ~.
N-VAR
see also bad ~
2.
Debt is the state of owing money.
Stress is a main reason for ~.
N-UNCOUNT
•
If you are in ~ or get into ~, you owe money. If you are out of ~ or get out of ~, you succeed in paying all the money that you owe.
He was already deeply in ~ through gambling losses...
How can I accumulate enough cash to get out of ~?
PHRASE
3.
You use ~ in expressions such as I owe you a ~ or I am in your ~ when you are expressing gratitude for something that someone has done for you. (FORMAL)
He was so good to me that I can never repay the ~ I owe him...
N-COUNT: usu sing, oft in poss N feelings