debt可指具体意义上的欠他人的钱财或物品,用作可数名词,也可指抽象的“负债的状况”或欠他人的“人情”,此时只用于单数形式。

be in〔out of〕 debt
欠〔不欠〕债 owe〔not owe〕 a lot of money
The club is ￡4  million in debt.这家俱乐部负债400英镑。
He died heavily in debt.他死时负债累累。
I don't like being in debt to anyone.　我不喜欢欠任何人的钱。
She was so deeply in debt that she was declared to be bankrupt.她负债累累以致于被宣告破产。
I'm in debt to him for all he has done for me.我感谢他为我所做的一切。
I'm heavily in debt at the moment,but hope to be out of debt when I get paid.我现在负债累累，但希望拿到工资后就能把债务还清。
I'll be out of debt next year.我明年就没有欠债了。
It's hard to stay out of debt when you are a student.当学生很难不负债。
Scott's novels were written to get him out of debt. 斯科特写那些小说是为了清偿债务。

be in sb's debt
欠某人的情 feel grateful to sb for his help,kindness,etc.
We are in your debt, Dr Marlowe. 马洛医生，我们很感激您。
You have been so kind to us that we shall always feel we are deeply in your debt.你待我们太好了，我们将永远感激不尽。

You must spend less until your debts are paid off. 你必须少花钱，先把债还清。
Her debts amount to over $ 1000.她欠的钱超过1000美元。
He had run up more debts for food supplies. 他为贮备粮食而借了更多的债。
I must pay my debts.我得还我的欠账。
If I pay all my debts,I shall have no money left.如果我把所有的债还了，我就分文不剩。
I need to pay off all my debts before I leave the country,我得在离开该国之前清偿所有的债务。
After she lost her job, she got into debt. 失业后她开始欠债。
We were poor but we never got into debt.我们穷是穷，但从不负债。
Many people experience difficulty in paying off their debts.许多人在还债时都遇到困难。
She agreed to settle her sister's debts.她同意还清她姐姐的债务。
The bank finally agreed to cancel the debt.银行最后同意把这笔债一笔勾销。
I would like to acknowledge my debt to my teacher.我想向老师表达我的感激之情。
Increasing government debt financed the new motorway. 新建高速成公路的资金是靠政府增加债务来筹借的。
He spent more and more money, getting deeper and deeper into debt. 他花钱越来越多，因而债也越背越重。
▲～+prep.-phrase
I owe a debt of gratitude to my father, who has always supported me.我对我父亲感恩不已，他总是支持我。
He repaid his debt of gratitude to Jane by helping her mother.他为了报答简的恩情而帮助她母亲。
He had run up credit card debts of thousands of dollars.他积欠了数千元信用卡借款。
By this time we had debts of over ￡15, 000.到这时我们的债务已经超过15，000英镑了。
We owe a debt to the Royal Shakespeare Company for its magnificent production of King Lear. 我们感谢皇家莎士比亚剧团极为出色地上演《李尔王》。

［同义词］ bill, debit, obligation
［词源］＜古法语deffe(欠债,欠钱)