ADJ

big, crippling, enormous, high, huge, large, massive, substantial
He was burdened with crippling debts
mounting
a company faced with mounting debts
outstanding, unpaid
She used her lottery winnings to pay off her outstanding debts
overdue
bad
(= that cannot be repaid) Bad debt has hit the bank's profits this year
long-term, short-term
overall, total
gross, net
commercial, corporate
external, foreign, international
national, public
The country has a national debt of 80% of GNP
gambling

VERB + DEBT

be burdened with, have, owe (sb)
the substantial debts that the company owed to the bank
incur, run up
She ran up huge debts on her credit card
clear, meet, pay (back/off), repay, settle
Without a job, he'll never clear his debts. It'll take months to pay off all your debts
reduce
tackle
The new governments main aim is to tackle the country's massive debt
default on
The firm defaulted on its debt and its assets were seized
cancel, wipe off/out, write off
After a series of meetings, the banks were forced to write off the company's debts
service (= pay interest on)
The fall in exports has left the country unable to service its debts
reschedule, restructure
The company has reached a deal with its major creditors allowing it to restructure its debts
secure
a debt secured on property

DEBT + VERB

fall due
stand at sth, total sth
The national debt stands at $7,000 million
arise from sth
debts arising from bad investments

DEBT + NOUN

collection, collector
burden

PREP

of ~
$80 million of debt

PHRASES

a burden of debt
Faced with a mounting burden of debt, he sold off the company
payment/repayment/settlement of a debt

ADJ

serious

VERB + DEBT

go into, get into, slip into
It is easy to get into serious debt with a credit card
get out of
You can get out of debt by strict economizing

PREP

in ~
He was heavily in debt by the time he sought advice
out of ~
struggling to stay out of debt

PHRASES

deeply/heavily in debt

ADJ

great

VERB + DEBT

owe
acknowledge, recognize

PREP

in sb's ~
I am in Ruth's debt for the excellent advice she gave me
~ to
In the introduction, the author acknowledges her debt to other writers on the subject

PHRASES

owe a debt of gratitude to sb
We owe a great debt of gratitude to our families for their support