indebted

adjective

in·​debt·​ed in-ˈde-təd 

1

: owing gratitude or recognition to another : beholden

2

: owing money

Synonyms

• obligated

Examples of indebted in a Sentence

thereafter forever felt indebted to the producer for giving her her lucky break

Recent Examples on the Web

This deal provides a crucial lifeline for the heavily indebted company, which carries about $30 billion in total debt (a debt-to-equity ratio of 188%). —Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025

Forty-two percent of indebted parents took on debt for their children's prescriptions, and 41 percent for doctor visits. —Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Aug. 2025

Evergrande, once China's largest developer by sales, will now be remembered as the world's most indebted developer with more than $300 billion in debt and whose default set off a broader years-long crisis that has weighed on the country's economic growth. —Anniek Bao,lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 25 Aug. 2025

Sharma will apparently remain free — and seriously indebted to his friends! —Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 22 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English indetted, from Anglo-French endetté, past participle of endetter to run into debt, from en- + dette debt

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for indebted

• abetted
• brevetted
• gazetted
• pigmented
• pileated
• pipetted
• regretted
• rivetted
• unheated
• carburetted
• silhouetted
• fetid

Kids Definition

indebted

adjective

in·​debt·​ed in-ˈdet-əd 

: being in debt : owing something (as money or gratitude)