[ad_1] plural noun
- the state of being behind or late, especially in the fulfillment of a duty, promise, obligation, or the like: Many homeowners have fallen into arrears.
- Sometimes arrear. something overdue in payment; a debt that remains unpaid: Those countries that have paid their arrears may be granted additional loans.
- in arrears, behind or late, especially in payment: She was three months in arrears on her mortgage and credit card payments.Also Chiefly Law, in arrear.
noun
- Also called: arrearage (əˈrɪərɪdʒ) (sometimes singular) something outstanding or owed
- in arrears or in arrear late in paying a debt or meeting an obligation
c.1300, “at a disadvantage;” mid-14c., “in times past;” late 14c., “in or to the rear;” see arrears. Meaning “behind in duties or payments” is from 1620s.
mid-14c., “in times past,” from Old French ariere “behind, backward,” from Vulgar Latin *ad retro, from Latin ad “to” (see ad-) + retro “behind” (see retro-). Meaning “balance due” dates from early 15c.; phrase in arrears first recorded 1610s, but in arrearages is from late 14c.
see in arrears.