Black’s Law Dictionary 3rd Edition, page 526:
DEBT. A sum of money due by certain and express agreement; as by bond for a determinate sum, a bill or note, a special bargain, or a rent reserved on a lease, where the amount is fixed and specific , and does not depend upon any subsequent valuation to settle it. 3 Bl. comm. 154; Camden v Allen, 26 N. J. Law 398; Appeal of City of Erie, 91 Pa. 398; Dickey v. Leonard, 77 Ga. 151; Hagar v. Reclamation Dist., 111 U. S. 701, 4 S. Ct. 663, 28 L. Ed. 569; Appeal Tax Court v. Rice, 50 Md 302; Fisher v. Consequa, 2 Wash. C. C. 386, Fed. Cas. No. 4,816; State v. Board of Loan Com’rs of State of New Mexico, 19 N. M. 266, 142 P. 152,155; Neilson v. Title Guaranty & Surety co., 101 Or. 262, 199 P. 948, 951; Shultz v. Ritterbusch, 38 Okl. 478, 134 P. 961, 968; W. S. Tyler Co. v. Deutsche Dampfschiffahrts Gessellschaft Hansa, Bremen, Germany (D. C.) 276 F. 134, 136.
Black’s Law Dictionary 8th Edition, pages 1215-1218:
debt. 1. Liability on a claim; a specific sum of money due by agreement or otherwise <the debt amounted to $2,500>.2. The aggregate of all existing claims against a person, entity, or state <the bank denied the loan application after analyzing the applicant’s outstanding debt>.3. A nonmonetary thing that one person owes another, such as goods or services < her debt was to supply him with 20 international first-class tickets on the airline of his choice>.4. A common-law writ by which a court adjudicates claims involving fixed sums of money <he brought suit in debt>. — Also termed (in sense 4) writ of debt. [Cases: Debt, Action of 1. C.J.S. Debt, Action Of §§ 1–2, 7–11.]
“The action of debt lies where a party claims the recovery of a debt; that is, a liquidated or certain sum of money due him. The action is based upon contract, but the contract may be implied, either in fact or in law, as well as express; and it may be either a simple contract or a specialty. The most common instances of its use are for debts: (a) Upon unilateral contracts express or implied in fact. (b) Upon quasi-contractual obligations having the force and effect of simple contracts. (c) Upon bonds and covenants under seal. (d) Upon judgments or obligations of record. (e) Upon obligations imposed by statute.” Benjamin J. Shipman, Handbook of Common-Law Pleading § 52, at 132 (Henry Winthrop Ballantine ed., 3d ed. 1923).
active debt.Civil law. A debt due to another person.
ancestral debt.An ancestor’s debt that an heir can be compelled to pay.
antecedent debt. 1.Contracts. An old debt that may serve as consideration for a new promise if the statute of limitations has run on the old debt. See PREEXISTING-DUTY RULE. [Cases: Contracts 67. C.J.S. Contracts §§ 121–122.] 2.Bankruptcy. A debtor’s prepetition obligation that existed before a debtor’s transfer of an interest in property. • For a transfer to be preferential, it must be for or on account of an antecedent debt. See PREFERENTIAL TRANSFER. [Cases: Bankruptcy 2612. C.J.S. Bankruptcy §§ 142–143.]
bad debt.A debt that is uncollectible and that may be deductible for tax purposes. [Cases: Internal Revenue 3420. C.J.S. Internal Revenue § 275.]
bonded debt.A debt secured by a bond; a business or government debt represented by issued bonds.
community debt.A debt that is chargeable to the community of husband and wife. See COMMUNITY PROPERTY. [Cases: Husband and Wife 268.]
consumer debt.A debt incurred by someone primarily for a personal, family, or household purpose. [Cases: Bankruptcy 2185, 2254, 2618. C.J.S. Bankruptcy §§ 55, 150, 348.]
“What are ‘consumer’ debts? Section 101(8) defines a consumer debt as follows: ‘consumer debt means debt incurred by an individual primarily for a personal, family, or household purpose.’ The touchstone is the debtor’s use of the money. The nature of the collateral, the business of the creditor and the form of the loan are all irrelevant. A loan of $25,000 from a Credit Union to pay for a child’s education is a consumer debt, but the same loan used to finance the opening of an accounting business is not a consumer debt. This is so irrespective of the nature of the collateral put up for the debt.” David G. Epstein et al., Bankruptcy § 7-45, at 579 (1993).
contingent debt.A debt that is not presently fixed but that may become fixed in the future with the occurrence of some event.
convertible debt.A debt whose security may be changed by a creditor into another form of security.
debt by simple contract.See simple-contract