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arrears

[uh-reerz]

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plural noun

the state of being behind or late, especially in the fulfillment of a duty, promise, obligation, or the like: Many homeowners have fallen into arrears.

Sometimes, arrear. something overdue in payment; a debt that remains unpaid: Those countries that have paid their arrears may be granted additional loans.

Idiom

in arrears, behind or late, especially in payment: She was three months in arrears on her mortgage and credit card payments. Also, Chiefly Law, in arrear.

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Arrears is always a great word to know.

So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:

a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

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Origin:
1300–50; noun use of arrear (adv., now obsolete), Middle English arere behind < Middle French ≪ Latin ad retrō. See ad-, retro-

Related forms

ar·rear·age, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To arrears

Example Sentences

Arrears have risen sharply, too, although they are nowhere near as high as in subprime.

The president of our co-op board is in arrears on his maintenance.

Interest on arrears would not be considered for this calculation.

Collins

World English Dictionary

arrears (əˈrɪəz)

—n
1.	(sometimes singular) Also called: arrearage something outstanding or owed
2.	in arrears, in arrear late in paying a debt or meeting an obligation

[C18: from obsolete arrear (adv) behindhand, from Old French arere, from Medieval Latin adretrō, from Latin ad to + retrō backwards]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

arrears

early 14c., from O.Fr. ariere "behind, backward," from V.L. *ad retro, from L. ad "to" + retro "behind." Meaning "balance due" dates from mid-15c.; phrase in arrears first recorded 1620, but in arrearages is from late 14c.

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

arrears

see in arrears.