debit

 
Pronunciation: /ˈdɛbɪt/

noun

  • an entry recording a sum owed, listed on the left-hand side or column of an account: a double-entry system of bookkeeping, where each debit has a corresponding credit entryThe opposite of credit.
  • a payment made or owed: a further debit of £21 6s 6d had been received from the Locomotive Department

verb (debits, debiting, debited)

[with object]
  • (of a bank or other financial organization) remove (an amount of money) from a customer’s account: $10,000 was debited from their account
  • remove an amount of money from (a bank account): cash terminals automatically debit a customer’s bank account

Phrases

be in debit

(of an account) show a net balance of money owed to others: the account is only 120 francs in debit

the debit side

the unsatisfactory aspect of a situation: on the debit side, they predict a rise in book prices

Origin:

late Middle English (in the sense 'debt'): from French débit, from Latin debitum 'something owed' (see debt). The verb sense dates from the 17th century; the current noun sense from the late 18th century

Spelling rule

Do not double the final consonant when adding endings which begin with a vowel to a word which ends in a vowel plus a consonant, if the stress is not at the end of the word (as in target): (debits, debiting, debited).