debit

/ˈdɛbɪt/

/ˈdɛbɪt/

Other forms: debits; debited; debiting

A debit is a payment made or charged, or the notation of the amount charged. Trying to track down the mysterious $2 debit to your bank account is almost never fruitful, but you’re bound to do it anyway.

From the Latin debere, meaning “to owe,” and just one i away from its more blunt cousin debt, a debit seems like a little word. But add an s to the end, and those charges really add up. You can use the word debit as a verb — “to debit your account,” or a noun — “the debit on your account,” but either way, a debit means you have less money than you had before!

Definitions of debit

1. noun

   an accounting entry acknowledging sums that are owing
   synonyms: debit entry

   antonyms:

   credit

   an accounting entry acknowledging income or capital items

   type of:

   accounting entry, entry, ledger entry

   a written record of a commercial transaction
2. verb

   enter as debit
   antonyms:

   credit

   accounting: enter as credit

   types:

   charge

   enter a certain amount as a charge

   type of:

   account, calculate

   keep an account of