creditor

noun

cred·​i·​tor ˈkre-di-tər 

-ˌtȯr

: one to whom a debt is owed

especially : a person to whom money or goods are due

Examples of creditor in a Sentence

She owes thousands of dollars to creditors.

Recent Examples on the Web

The company's website forwards to PwC where there is a notice saying that further information will be released to creditors as the available assets are assessed. —David Szondy, New Atlas, 31 Oct. 2024

Texas and Florida homeowners are also lucky, as their houses are essentially protected from creditors. —Michael Waters, The Atlantic, 30 Oct. 2024

For Americans, those benefits include shielding assets from U.S. creditors, not accepting judgements from U.S. courts, and not providing a public registry for trust deeds. —Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2024

The company’s mounting financial problems contributed to dire warnings of a potential bankruptcy filing from Moffett, who in May predicted EchoStar would have to seek protection from creditors in four to six months. —Aldo Svaldi, The Denver Post, 30 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

creditor

noun

cred·​i·​tor ˈkred-ət-ər 

: a person to whom a debt is owed

Legal Definition

creditor

noun

cred·​i·​tor ˈkre-də-tər, -ˌtȯr 

: a person to whom a debt is owed

especially : a person to whom money or goods are due compare debtor, obligor

— general creditor

: a creditor who is not secured by a lien or other security interest

called also unsecured creditor

— judgment creditor

: a creditor who has a money judgment entered against the debtor and may enforce the judgment (as by attachment or writ of execution)

— known creditor

: a creditor whose potential claim is known or should be known by a debtor and who is entitled to notice of a corporate dissolution or of a date at which claims will be barred (as in bankruptcy)

— lien creditor

: a creditor who is secured by a lien (as by attachment)

— secured creditor

: a creditor who has a security interest (as a mortgage)

— unsecured creditor

: general creditor in this entry