approval
"give her recognition for trying"
"he was given credit for his work"
"give her credit for trying"
money available for a client to borrow
"The bank manager approved an additional line of credit so we could purchase new inventory before the holiday season."
an accounting entry acknowledging income or capital items
"The accountant recorded a credit to the revenue account after processing the client's payment for completed services."
used in the phrase `to your credit' in order to indicate an achievement deserving praise
"she already had several performances to her credit"
arrangement for deferred payment for goods and services
"The store offered him a credit account so he could buy his new furniture now and pay for it later."
recognition by a college or university that a course of studies has been successfully completed; typically measured in semester hours
"After studying abroad for two semesters, she received full credit back home and only needed to take four more classes before graduating."
a short note recognizing a source of information or of a quoted passage
"the student's essay failed to list several important citations"
"the acknowledgments are usually printed at the front of a book"
"the article includes mention of similar clinical cases"
an entry on a list of persons who contributed to a film or written work
"the credits were given at the end of the film"
an estimate, based on previous dealings, of a person's or an organization's ability to fulfill their financial commitments
"After reviewing our long history of timely payments, the bank approved us for additional credit."
Reliance on the truth of something said or done; faith; trust.
"I have no credit in his words because he has lied to me every time we've met."
In plain English: Credit is money you borrow from a bank or store that you promise to pay back later with interest.
"Please give credit to the author for her original research."
Usage: Use credit to describe reliance on someone's word or the validity of an action, such as giving credit to a source for accurate information. Do not confuse this with financial borrowing when discussing money owed.
have trust in; trust in the truth or veracity of
"When she finally showed me her receipts, I could finally credit what she had been telling me about their trip."
To believe; to put credence in.
"I don't credit his excuse for being late until he actually shows up at work on time."
In plain English: To credit someone means to believe what they say or to think they are good at something.
"The teacher gave extra credit for the student's excellent presentation."
Usage: Use the verb credit when you attribute an action or quality to someone, such as giving them praise for a good deed. Do not use it to mean believing something true, which requires using "believe" instead.
A surname.
"The famous physicist Paul Credit published his groundbreaking theory on quantum mechanics last year."
Credit entered English from Middle French as a term for belief or trust. It ultimately traces back to Latin, where it originally referred to both faith and financial loans.