Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun One that owes something to another.
  • noun One who is guilty of a trespass or sin; a sinner.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun One who owes another money, goods, or services; one who is in debt; hence, one under obligations to another for advantages received, or to do reparation for an injury committed; one who has received from another an advantage of any kind.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun One who owes a debt; one who is indebted; -- correlative to creditor.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun economics A person or firm that owes money; one in debt; one who owes a debt
  • noun law One who owes another anything, or is under obligation, arising from express agreement, implication of law, or principles of natural justice, to pay money or to fulfill some other obligation; in bankruptcy or similar proceedings, the person who is the subject of the proceeding.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a person who owes a creditor; someone who has the obligation of paying a debt

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English dettour, from Old French dettor, from Latin dēbitor, from dēbitus, past participle of dēbēre, to owe; see debt.]

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Examples

  • And we have a very financially sound corporation backing us up and providing what we call debtor-in - possession financing.

    CNN Transcript Sep 25, 2005 2005

  • "My hope is that it's not a liquidation," Sen. Chris Dodd, chairman of the Banking Committee, said Friday morning on the "Early Show" on CBS, "but what they call a debtor-in-possession, sort of Chapter 11 filing, which would allow for the reorganization of these companies."

    Salon 2009

  • "My hope is that it's not a liquidation," Sen. Chris Dodd, chairman of the Banking Committee, said Friday morning on the "Early Show" on CBS, "but what they call a debtor-in-possession, sort of Chapter 11 filing, which would allow for the reorganization of these companies."

    Chicago Defender 2009

  • ORLEANS - After 33 months in what he called debtor's prison, Richard Birchall was suddenly released from jail Wednesday under new law created by the state's highest court for people jailed on civil contempt charges.

    Reader - MassLive.com 2009

  • "My hope is that it's not a liquidation," Sen. Chris Dodd, chairman of the Banking Committee, said Friday morning on the "Early Show" on CBS, "but what they call a debtor-in-possession, sort of Chapter 11 filing, which would allow for the reorganization of these companies."

    KSBW.com - Local News 2009

  • "My hope is that it's not a liquidation," Sen. Chris Dodd, chairman of the Banking Committee, said Friday morning on the "Early Show" on CBS, "but what they call a debtor-in-possession, sort of Chapter 11 filing, which would allow for the reorganization of these companies."

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com 2009

  • "My hope is that it's not a liquidation," Sen. Chris Dodd, chairman of the Banking Committee, said this morning on the "Early Show" on CBS, "but what they call a debtor-in-possession, sort of Chapter 11 filing, which would allow for the reorganization of these companies."

    lsj.com - News 2009

  • "My hope is that it's not a liquidation," Sen. Chris Dodd, chairman of the Banking Committee, said Friday morning on the "Early Show" on CBS, "but what they call a debtor-in-possession, sort of Chapter 11 filing, which would allow for the reorganization of these companies."

    KITV.com - Local New 2009

  • "My hope is that it's not a liquidation," Sen. Chris Dodd, chairman of the Banking Committee, said Friday morning on the "Early Show" on CBS, "but what they call a debtor-in-possession, sort of Chapter 11 filing, which would allow for the reorganization of these companies."

    Salon 2009

  • "My hope is that it's not a liquidation," Sen. Chris Dodd, chairman of the Banking Committee, said Friday morning on the "Early Show" on CBS, "but what they call a debtor-in-possession, sort of Chapter 11 filing, which would allow for the reorganization of these companies."

    WXYZ-TV Detroit - 7 Action News 2009

Comments

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  • "If thy Debtor be honest and capable, thou hast thy Mony again, if not with Encrease, with Praise: If he prove insolvent, don’t ruin him to get that, which it will not ruin thee to lose: For thou art but a Steward, and another is thy Owner, Master and Judge."

    - William Penn, 'Fruits of Solitude'.

    September 8, 2009