Meaning & use
arrears
Money that is owed and should have already been paid.
See it in a sentence
The tenant fell into arrears after missing three months of rent.
The company paid its staff in arrears, at the end of each worked month.
A note on using this word
Arrears is almost always used in the phrase in arrears, meaning behind on a payment schedule; it has no singular form.
Words with a similar meaning
debtoverdue payment
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
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