Meaning & use
uncollectable or uncollectible
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Meaning
adjectivenot comparable
Impossible to collect, especially because a debt cannot be recovered or an item cannot be gathered.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a linking verb: an uncollectable debt; the debt is uncollectable.
Patterns
- uncollectable debt
- uncollectable account
- be uncollectable
The company wrote off millions in uncollectable debts.
After the customer disappeared, the invoice became uncollectable.
They classified the loan as uncollectible and stopped sending reminders.
Common combinations
- uncollectable debt
- The bank sold the uncollectable debt to a collection agency.
- uncollectible account
- We need to remove uncollectible accounts from our records.
- deem something uncollectable
- The court deemed the fine uncollectable because the offender had no assets.
- write off as uncollectable
- The accountant wrote off the balance as uncollectable.
Synonyms and how they differ
- irrecoverable
- Irrecoverable is broader and can refer to anything that cannot be regained, not just debts or physical items.
- bad
- In finance, a bad debt is one unlikely to be paid, but 'bad' is informal and less precise than uncollectable.
Opposites
Word family
- collect verb
- To gather things together or obtain payment.
- collectable adjective
- Able to be collected, especially as a hobby item.
- collection noun
- The act of collecting or a group of collected items.
Commonly confused: uncollectable or uncollectible or collectible?
uncollectable or uncollectible vs collectible
Collectible (or collectable) means an item worth collecting, such as a rare coin. Uncollectible means the opposite: not able to be collected.
Practice
The debt was so old that the agency finally declared it ______.
Choose one answer.
Uncollectable means impossible to collect, which fits a debt that cannot be recovered. Collectable means able to be collected and would suggest the debt can still be paid.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “uncollectable or uncollectible”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.