noun
1 sum of money owed
ADJECTIVE
▪ big , crippling , enormous , heavy , high , huge , large , massive , substantial
▪
He was burdened with crippling ~s.
▪ mounting
▪
a company faced with mounting ~s
▪ outstanding , unpaid
▪
She used her lottery winnings to pay off her outstanding ~s.
▪ bad (= that cannot be repaid)
▪
Bad ~ has hit the bank's profits this year.
▪ long-term , short-term
▪ overall , total
▪ gross , net
▪ commercial , corporate
▪ federal , government
▪ consumer
▪ external , foreign , international
▪ national , public
▪
The country has a national ~ of 80% of GNP.
▪ personal
▪
He used the cash to pay off personal ~s.
▪ gambling
▪ credit-card , loan , mortgage
▪
Managing your student loan ~ is not easy.
VERB + DEBT
▪ be burdened with , have , owe (sb)
▪
the substantial ~s that the company owed to the bank
▪ accumulate , incur , run up
▪
She ran up huge ~s on her credit card.
▪ clear , eliminate , meet , pay , pay back , pay off , repay , retire ( AmE , finance ), settle
▪
Without a job, he'll never clear his ~s.
▪
It'll take months to pay off all your ~s.
▪ reduce
▪ tackle
▪
The new governments main aim is to tackle the country's massive ~.
▪ default on
▪
The company defaulted on its ~ and its assets were seized.
▪ cancel , erase , forgive , wipe out , write off
▪
After a series of meetings, the banks were forced to write off the company's ~s.
▪ service (= pay interest on)
▪
The fall in exports has left the country unable to service its ~s.
▪ refinance , reschedule , restructure
▪
The company has reached a deal allowing it to restructure its ~s.
▪ consolidate
▪
He wanted to consolidate his ~s into one payment.
▪ manage
▪
The first step in managing your ~ is to stop incurring it.
▪ secure
▪
a ~ secured on property
DEBT + VERB
▪ fall due ( BrE )
▪ stand at sth , total sth
▪
The national ~ stands at $7 billion.
▪ arise from sth ( BrE )
▪
~s arising from bad investments
DEBT + NOUN
▪ collection , collector
▪ payment , repayment
▪ burden , level , load , obligation
▪
Data show that ~ levels at private companies are increasing.
▪ problem
▪ management
▪
We offer financial and debt-management advice.
▪ cancellation , forgiveness , relief
▪ reduction
▪ consolidation
▪ service
▪ crisis
▪
a solution to the ~ crisis of the developing world
PREPOSITION
▪ of ~
▪
$80 million of ~
PHRASES
▪ a burden of ~
▪
Faced with a mounting burden of ~, he sold off the company.
▪ payment of a ~ , repayment of a ~ , settlement of a ~
2 state of owing money
ADJECTIVE
▪ serious
VERB + DEBT
▪ get into , go into , slip into
▪
It is easy to get into serious ~ with a credit card.
▪ get out of
▪
You can get out of ~ by strict economizing.
PREPOSITION
▪ in ~
▪
He was heavily in ~ by the time he sought advice.
▪ out of ~
▪
We're all struggling to stay out of ~.
PHRASES
▪ deeply in ~ , heavily in ~
3 sth that you owe sb
ADJECTIVE
▪ great
VERB + DEBT
▪ owe
▪ acknowledge , recognize
▪ repay
▪
She was simply repaying a ~, saving his career in return for him saving hers.
PREPOSITION
▪ in sb's ~
▪
I will be forever in Ruth's ~ for the excellent advice she gave me.
▪ ~ to
▪
In the introduction, the author acknowledges her ~ to other writers on the subject.
PHRASES
▪ owe a ~ of gratitude to sb
▪
We owe a great ~ of gratitude to our families for their support.