debit
noun · verb · adjective
Simple meaning
A sum of money taken out of a bank account.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
dehbitSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈdɛbɪt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A sum of money taken out of a bank account. Thus called, because in bank's bookkeeping a cash withdrawal diminishes the amount of money held on the account, i.e. bank's debt to the customer.
In bookkeeping, an entry in the left hand column of an account.
verb
To record a receivable in the bookkeeping.
Enter as debit
To make an entry on the debit side of an account.
adjective
Of or relating to the debit card function of a debit card rather than its often available credit card function
Of or relating to process of taking money from an account
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A sum of money taken out of a bank account. Thus called, because in bank's bookkeeping a cash withdrawal diminishes the amount of money held on the account, i.e. bank's debt to the customer.
Used this way, debit is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in finance or economics contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Finance/economics
Nearby words
- debit entry , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use debit
- “I paid for my groceries using my debit card at the checkout.”
Share your sentence
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “debit” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.