Definition of "debit" []

• Accounting An item of debt as recorded in an account. (noun)
• Accounting The left-hand side of an account or accounting ledger where bookkeeping entries are made. (noun)
• Accounting An entry of a sum in the left-hand side of an account. (noun)
• Accounting The sum of such entries. (noun)
• A drawback; a detriment. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Visa, which has a larger market share in debit cards, benefits more from their usage for expenses including groceries and gasoline."
• "Meanwhile, Citigroup began charging 3% of the transaction for certain debit card purchases and ATM withdrawals made outside the U.S. last year, up from 2% — and in line with the company's fees for foreign credit card transactions."
• "The abandoning of conservative ideals under President Bush — debit is wealth, up is down, black is white — and his failure to locate a successor has left the party morally and politically adrift."