debit card

/ˌdɛbɪt ˈkɑrd/

/ˈdɛbɪt kɑd/

Other forms: debit cards

A debit card is a rectangular piece of plastic you get from the bank and use to pay for things. As long as there's money in your account, all you need to pay for lunch is your debit card.

Most debit cards look just like credit cards. Both are hard plastic, printed with numbers, and can be swiped or inserted in a card reader to make purchases. The difference is that a debit card is directly connected to your bank account; the money you have in the bank is the amount that's available to you on the card. You can also use a debit card at a bank machine to make a cash withdrawal. Debit means "amount owed."

Definitions of debit card

1. noun

   a card (usually plastic) that enables the holder to withdraw money or to have the cost of purchases charged directly to the holder's bank account
   type of:

   positive identification

   evidence proving that you are who you say you are; evidence establishing that you are among the group of people already known to the system; recognition by the system leads to acceptance

   charge account credit, open-end credit, revolving credit

   a consumer credit line that can be used up to a certain limit or paid down at any time