In broader terms, debt refers to all economic resources owed by a person (legal or natural). As it reflects an economic resource owed by a party to another, a debt may involve a vast array of resources including property, money, services, or other types of consideration.

In finance, debt has a specific meaning: money raised through the issuance of bonds or other types of debt instruments. In this sense, it is known as debt financing, the act or process of raising capital by borrowing money from a lender (or a community of lenders- e.g., the public) or an institution (a bank), to be repaid, typically with interest, at a certain future date.

Types of debts are numerous, including loans, bonds, notes, and mortgages, as well as specific structured products. In financial accounting, debt is a type of liabilities (and can be a form of capital- i.e., debt capital of an entity), as distinct from equity.