credit (ˈkrɛdɪt) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) |
| |
| —n |
| 1. | commendation or approval, as for an act or quality: she was given credit for her work |
| 2. | a person or thing serving as a source of good influence, repute, ability, etc: a credit to the team |
| 3. | the quality of being believable or trustworthy: that statement had credit |
| 4. | influence or reputation coming from the approval or good opinion of others: he acquired credit within the community |
| 5. | belief in the truth, reliability, quality, etc, of someone or something: I would give credit to that philosophy |
| 6. | a sum of money or equivalent purchasing power, as at a shop, available for a person's use |
| 7. | a. the positive balance in a person's bank account |
| | b. the sum of money that a bank makes available to a client in excess of any deposit |
| 8. | a. the practice of permitting a buyer to receive goods or services before payment |
| | b. the time permitted for paying for such goods or services |
| 9. | reputation for solvency and commercial or financial probity, inducing confidence among creditors |
| 10. | accounting |
| | a. acknowledgment of an income, liability, or capital item by entry on the right-hand side of an account |
| | b. the right-hand side of an account |
| | c. an entry on this side |
| | d. the total of such entries |
| | e. Compare debit (as modifier): credit entries |
| 11. | short for tax credit |
| 12. | education |
| | a. a distinction awarded to an examination candidate obtaining good marks |
| | b. a section of an examination syllabus satisfactorily completed, as in higher and professional education |
| 13. | letter of credit an order authorizing a named person to draw money from correspondents of the issuer |
| 14. | on credit with payment to be made at a future date |
| |
| —vb , -its, -iting, -ited |
| 15. | (foll by with) to ascribe (to); give credit (for): they credited him with the discovery |
| 16. | to accept as true; believe |
| 17. | to do credit to |
| 18. | accounting |
| | a. to enter (an item) as a credit in an account |
| | b. Compare debit to acknowledge (a payer) by making such an entry |
| 19. | to award a credit to (a student) |
| |
| [C16: from Old French crédit, from Italian credito, from Latin crēditum loan, from crēdere to believe] |
| |
| 'creditless |
| |
| —adj |