Meaning & use
debank
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitiveinformal
To stop using a bank or financial service, usually as a protest or to avoid its policies.
Grammar: Can take an object: debank a company. Can also be used without an object: They decided to debank.
Patterns
- debank a company
- debank from a bank
- decide to debank
Some customers threatened to debank the institution after it changed its fee policy.
After the scandal, many users chose to debank and move their money elsewhere.
The campaign encouraged people to debank banks that invest in fossil fuels.
verbtransitive or intransitiveinformal
To be refused banking services, especially by a bank closing an account.
Grammar: Often used in the passive: be debanked. Also intransitive: small businesses are being debanked.
Patterns
- be debanked by a bank
- get debanked
The political group claimed it was debanked without warning.
Several small business owners said they had been debanked because of their views.
Word forms
| third person singular | debanks |
|---|---|
| past tense | debanks |
| past participle | debanks |
| -ing form | debanks |
Common combinations
- threaten to debank
- Customers threatened to debank the lender if it raised rates again.
- be debanked by
- The charity was debanked by its bank after a review of its accounts.
- debank a bank
- Activists urged people to debank banks that fund oil projects.
Synonyms and how they differ
- boycott
- Boycott means refusing to buy from or deal with a company; debank is narrower and means stopping the use of banking services.
Word family
- debanking noun
- The practice or process of refusing banking services or stopping their use.
Commonly confused: debank or unbank?
debank vs unbank
Not a standard word; 'debank' is the term used in finance and online discussions.
Practice
After the bank closed their accounts, the couple decided to ______ and keep their savings at home.
Choose one answer.
'Debank' means to stop using a bank. 'Debt' is money owed; 'debit' is taking money from an account; 'debate' is a discussion or argument.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “debank”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.