Spelling.School · How to spell

How to spell debt

What it means: The state of owing something to another person.

In a sentence: I borrowed a toy from my friend, so I am in debt until I give it back. ▶

The part people get wrong

Watch for a silent b, and an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear. Often misspelled as dept or debtte.

Same family: debts, debtor, indebted, liability, loan. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Debt” comes from Old French “dete,” from Latin “debitum,” meaning “that which is owed.” The silent letter b was later added in English to reflect its Latin origin, even though it’s not pronounced.

Patterns it uses: The unstressed vowel (schwa) · Silent letters

Try spelling it

You will hear the word and a sentence. Type it and press Enter. Then four more words from the same level, so you know where you stand.

Words like this

psalm · moisten · balance · account · object · everyone · gnaw · cleopatra

Spelling.School is a spaced-repetition spelling practice: ten minutes a day, every word spoken aloud, every miss explained, and every word coming back just before you would forget it. Try five words without signing up.