debtor

noun

debt·​or ˈde-tər 

1

: one guilty of neglect or violation of duty

2

: one who owes a debt

Examples of debtor in a Sentence

The debtor agrees to pay the debt over a three-year period.

Recent Examples on the Web

In Oklahoma, Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt mentioned the need to create better outcomes through fines and fees reform, plus possibly abolishing debtors prisons. —Taylor Millard, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 21 Mar. 2025

That process includes using a Cross-Servicing debtor dispute form that the taxpayers submit to the Department of Treasury to dispute the debt. —Ross Rosenfeld, Newsweek, 25 Feb. 2025

Equinox, Blink Fitness, the debtors and Planet Fitness did not respond to a request for comment. —Richard Collings, Axios, 5 Nov. 2024

Subsequently, 27 states enacted laws that authorized cities to become debtors and seek bankruptcy protection. —John Rennie Short, The Conversation, 20 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for debtor

• better
• bettor
• fetter
• getter
• letter
• netter
• petar
• petter
• rhetor
• setter
• sweater
• tetter

Kids Definition

debtor

noun

debt·​or ˈdet-ər 

1

: sinner

2

: one that owes a debt

Legal Definition

debtor

noun

debt·​or

: a person who owes a debt see also bankrupt compare creditor, obligee, obligor

Note: The Bankruptcy Act of 1978 calls the person concerned in a bankruptcy case the “debtor” as opposed to the “bankrupt.”