1. A certificate or voucher acknowledging a debt.
2. An unsecured bond issued by a civil or governmental corporation or agency and backed only by the credit standing of the issuer.
3. A customhouse certificate providing for the payment of a drawback.

[Middle English debentur, from Latin dēbentur, they are due (probably the first word appearing on certificates of indebtedness), third person pl. passive of dēbēre, to owe.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.