debit

debit — noun

1. an entry on a financial record showing money that has been paid out, for instanc

1.nounB1
Definition

an entry on a financial record showing money that has been paid out, for instance when you use a payment card at a store; also the amount that was paid out itself.

Example

A £50 debit appeared on Élise's account after she used her card at the supermarket.

collocation: debit + of + amount + on statement

The monthly bank statement shows all the credits and debits from the past thirty days.

contrasting pair: credits and debits

Common collocations
  • direct debit
  • debit card
  • debit balance
  • debit entry
  • unexpected debit
Synonyms
  • charge

    emphasises a fee or cost applied by a business; a debit is the actual removal of money from the account

  • deduction

    more general — can refer to any amount subtracted from a total, not just bank accounts

  • withdrawal

    specifically cash taken out; a debit includes electronic payments and card transactions

Antonyms
  • credit

    money added to an account, the direct opposite of a debit

Usage Note

In bank statements, debits are often shown as a separate column or marked with a minus sign. The direct opposite of a debit is a credit.

Common Mistakes

I made a debit from my savings.
I made a withdrawal from my savings.
A debit is the record or the amount, not the transaction action itself; the verb 'debit' is used for the action.
I need to pay the debit on my card.
I need to pay the balance on my card.
'Debit' refers to a specific entry of money taken out, not the total amount owed.

debit — verb

Word family

  • debit card
    nounA2
  • direct debit
    nounB1
  • debited
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words refer to money moving out of an account or being subtracted, but they differ in scope and context. 'Debit' is a banking and accounting term for any money taken from an account — it is the most neutral record-keeping word. 'Charge' emphasises a fee or cost that a business applies (a service charge, a late fee), and is more about the imposition of a cost than the movement of money itself. 'Deduction' is broader: it can apply to tax taken from a salary, points taken from a score, or amounts subtracted from any total. 'Withdrawal' is narrower and more physical — it specifically means taking cash out, usually from an ATM or bank counter. For example: 'The bank statement listed a debit of £30' (neutral record), 'The hotel added a service charge of £10' (fee imposed), 'The tax deduction reduced her paycheck' (subtracted from total), and 'He made a withdrawal of £200 from the ATM' (cash taken out).

debit ↗charge ↗deduction ↗withdrawal ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • direct debit
  • debit card
  • debit entry

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word 'debit' comes from Latin 'debitum', meaning 'something owed'. This in turn came from the verb 'debere' ('to owe'), which was formed by combining 'de-' ('away from') and 'habere' ('to have'). So the original sense was 'to have something taken away from you' — the very idea behind a bank debit today.