debenture

CEFRC1

/dɪˈbɛntjʊə/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A type of company loan that can be traded.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A certificate of a loan made to the government; a government bond.

Examples

  • As a fixed-income security, a debenture provides steady returns to cautious investors.

  • Madame Corre, who made the important decisions after her plodding husband had spent hours on the ledger, sold the family debentures and put the money into Dutch decurities.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
3

Also pronounced

  • /dɪˈbɛntʃə/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A type of debt instrument secured only by the general credit or promise to pay of the issuer, not involving any physical assets or collateral, now commonly issued by large, well established corporations with adequate credit ratings.

  2. A certificate that certifies an amount of money owed to someone; a certificate of indebtedness.

  3. A document granting lenders a charge over a borrower’s physical assets, giving them a means to collect a debt, as part of a secured loan.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The company issued a blank to raise capital for expansion.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From earlier debentur, from Latin debentur (“they are owing”), supposedly the first word of such a document in early times. The ending was apparently influenced by words in -(t)ure.