short-term debt

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "short-term debt" is correct and usable in written English. You can use it when referring to financial obligations that are due within a year. For example, "The company needs to manage its short-term debt effectively to maintain liquidity." Alternative expressions include "current liabilities" and "temporary debt."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Formal & Business

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

Higher interest payments on short-term debt.

The New York Times

We had a freeze of short-term debt.

The New Yorker

Moreover, Japan borrows inordinately through short-term debt.

The Economist

It also fingers an over-reliance on short-term debt.

The Economist

A company with a short-term debt rating of "not prime" effectively cannot sell short-term debt.

The New York Times

The purchases would apply only to short-term debt of up to three years.

The Guardian - Business

Yukos has $2.6 billion in long-term debt, and roughly $120 million in short-term debt.

The New York Times

"It's Banking 101 — you don't take long-term assets and fund them with short-term debt".

The New York Times

Originally Athens had aimed to raise €3.2bn in today's sale of short-term debt.

The Guardian - Business

The company must satisfy $1.1 billion in short-term debt obligations.

The New York Times

Credit-rating companies have recently said the company relied too much on short-term debt.

The New York Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use this term specifically for financial obligations that are due within a single fiscal year or twelve months to maintain technical accuracy.

Common error

Do not use "short-term debt" as a catch-all for every bill a company owes. For items like unpaid utility bills or wages, use "<a href="/s/accounts+payable" target="_blank" rel="alternative">accounts payable" or "<a href="/s/accrued+expenses" target="_blank" rel="alternative">accrued expenses" instead.

Linguistic Context

In financial and economic discourse, "short-term debt" functions as a compound noun phrase. It typically serves as the subject or object of sentences concerning liquidity, corporate finance and macroeconomic stability. According to Ludwig AI, it is frequently paired with verbs like "refinance", "issue", "service" or "repay".

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

75%

Science

15%

Formal & Business

10%

Less common in

Social Media

2%

Wiki

2%

Reference

1%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "short-term debt" is a vital component of financial English, appearing with high frequency in authoritative publications like The New York Times and The Economist. Ludwig AI confirms that the term is grammatically correct and essential for describing liabilities due within one year. Writers should ensure they use the hyphen when the phrase acts as a modifier and distinguish it from broader terms like "<a href="/s/current+liabilities" target="_blank" rel="alternative">current liabilities" to maintain professional precision. Whether discussing corporate balance sheets or national economies, it remains the standard designation for brief-period financial obligations.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

current liabilities

Broadens the scope to include all obligations due within a year, not just debt

short-term borrowing

Focuses more on the action of obtaining the funds rather than the balance sheet entry

current debt

A more concise version often used interchangeably in business summaries

maturing debt

Specifically refers to debt that is reaching its expiration or payment date soon

floating debt

An older or more specific technical term for debt not yet funded by permanent loans

short-run obligations

Employs an economic perspective focusing on the time horizon

immediate liabilities

Emphasizes the urgency of the payment timeline

temporary debt

Highlights the non-permanent nature of the financial arrangement

brief-period debt

A less common variant focusing on the duration of the liability

unfunded debt

Often used in government or corporate finance to describe debt intended to be rolled over

FAQs

How do I use "short-term debt" in a sentence?

You can use it to describe a company's immediate financial health, such as: "The corporation is struggling to refinance its "short-term debt" before the quarter ends."

What is the difference between "short-term debt" and "current liabilities"?

While "short-term debt" refers specifically to borrowed money like loans or notes, "<a href="/s/current+liabilities" target="_blank" rel="alternative">current liabilities" is a broader accounting category that includes debt plus other obligations like taxes and payables.

Should "short-term debt" always be hyphenated?

Yes, when used as a compound adjective preceding the noun it modifies, it should be hyphenated. If you were to say the debt is short term, the hyphen is typically omitted, though in financial writing, the phrase "short-term debt" is almost universally treated as a single unit.

What is another way to say "short-term debt"?

Depending on the context, you could use "<a href="/s/current+debt" target="_blank" rel="alternative">current debt" or "<a href="/s/short-term+borrowing" target="_blank" rel="alternative">short-term borrowing".