[ar.rear] n [ME arrere behind, backward, fr. MF, fr. (assumed) VL ad retro backward, fr. L ad to + retro backward, behind--more at at, retro-] (1620) 1: the state of being behind in the discharge of obligations--usu. used in pl. "in ~s with the rent"
2. a: an unfinished duty--usu. used in pl. "~s of work that have piled up" b: an unpaid and overdue debt--usu. used in pl. "paying off the ~s of the past several months"