Definitions

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

  • noun plural An unpaid, overdue debt or an unfulfilled obligation.
  • noun plural The state of being behind in fulfilling obligations.

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

  • noun An unpaid or overdue obligation. A debt.
  • noun Plural form of arrear.

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

  • noun the state of being behind in payments
  • noun an unpaid overdue debt

Etymologies

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

[Middle English arrers, from arrere, behind, from Old French arere, from Vulgar Latin *ad retrō, backward : Latin ad, to; see ad– + Latin retrō, behind; see re- in Indo-European roots.]

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Examples

Comments

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  • c-b, does this word chafe your ass?

    August 20, 2008

  • No.

    August 20, 2008

  • there was a persistent need to grapple with appeals from individuals who had fallen in arrears.

    September 14, 2010