Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A promise to pay a debt, especially a signed paper stating the specific amount owed and often bearing the letters IOU.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A memorandum or acknowledgment of debt less formal than a promissory note, and in England sometimes containing only these letters, with the sum owed and the signature of the debtor. It is not a promissory note, because no direct promise to pay is expressed.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- A paper having on it these letters, with a sum named, and duly signed; -- in use in England as an acknowledgment of a debt, and taken as evidence thereof, but not amounting to a promissory note; a due bill.
WordNet 3.0
- n. an informal debt instrument; representing `I owe you'
Etymologies
- From the pronunciation of "I owe you", not the initial letters. (Wiktionary)
- From the pronunciation of I owe you. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“European banks also depend heavily on so-called wholesale funding—borrowing in a short-term IOU market—to fund dollar-denominated loans and securities positions.”
The Wall Street Journal: Global Markets Skittish About Europe's Banks
“A middle class person working everyday and after filing taxes, instead of their legal tax refund (if owed one) they will receive a IOU from the state.”
“Whew there is a Social Security surplus, the extra money is put in the general fund, and in exchange SS is given a non-marketable security for that amount (basically an IOU from the government to itself).”
“Campbell's campaign, meanwhile, said the endorsement is nothing more than an "IOU from the 2008 election cycle.”
“A prediction from this guy is about as dependable as an IOU from the mob.”
“KKR Financial invested in Alt-A loans that range between prime and subprime and funded those purchases largely by issuing commercial paper, short-term IOU's typically issued only to the most creditworthy borrowers.”
“Adding to the credit crunch: Commercial paper, a type of short-term IOU that banks use to raise cash and thus a cog of daily banking operations, is finding little demand among investors.”
“Also Anita and I were worried about the anti-intellectual attitudes towards the University of California expressed by the state legislature, worries that proved well-founded when a few years later salaries were capped, teaching loads were increased, and the state budget was not passed on time, causing faculty to be paid in IOU's.”
“US dollars are created when the Treasury issues a bond, in other words an IOU or a debt and it gets sold on the open market.”
“Commercial paper, which helps lubricate the flow of business operations, is a short-term IOU available to corporations that banks usually know are good for the money.”
Lists
‘IOU’ hasn't been added to any lists yet.
Tweets
Looking for tweets for IOU.
Comments
No comments yet...
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.