arrearsar‧rears /əˈrɪəz $ əˈrɪrz/ noun [plural] 
Many people are in arrears with their rent.be four weeks/three months etc in arrears The rent money is two months in arrears.fall/get into arrears (=become late with payments)2money that you owe someone because you have not made regular payments at the correct time: We’ve got 3 months' arrears to pay.rent/mortgage/tax arrears He was ordered to pay rent arrears of £550.3paid in arrears British English if your salary is paid in arrears, it is paid at the end of the period you have worked: a salary paid monthly in arrears
WORD ORIGINarrears
Origin:
1400-1500 arrear ‘backward, behind’ (14-18 centuries), from Old French arere, from Vulgar Latin ad retro ‘to the back’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- When will America pay its arrears to the U.N.?
- If interest payments are waived, the society is not obliged to pay arrears of interest in future years.
- Long-term arrears continued to rise as societies tried to keep families in their homes.
- Payment will be made in arrears every four weeks or quarterly, whichever you prefer.
- Sir George said that arrears represented 8.5 percent of the total rent collectable in the 1990/91 financial year.
- The difference was exacerbated by Parliament's refusal to pay off the army's arrears of pay.
- The original proposal was for no guaranteed funding and payment to be in arrears.
Longman Language Activatorwhat you say when someone or something is late
· The meeting started late.· There are severe penalties for late payment of bills.15 minutes/3 days etc late · Tony handed in his homework a day late.
use this about payments that should have been made or library books that should have been returned before now: · I must take these books back to the library - they're overdue.three weeks/two months etc overdue: · The rent's three weeks overdue.
to have not made one or more regular payments at the time when you should: · Jim's worried because he's behind with his loan repayments.be two months etc behind with something: · You're two months behind with the rent.get/fall behind with something (=start to make payments late): · I'm getting behind with the mortgage and I don't know how I'm going to pay it.· Even when people fall behind with their payments, they continue to take on financial commitments.
to have not made one or more regular payments at the time when you should: · In some areas, two out of three tenants are in arrears.be in arrears with: · Many countries are in arrears with their contributions.be two months etc in arrears: · Over 60,000 Londoners are more than three months in arrears with their mortgage repayments.get/fall into arrears: · The tax bills are sent out annually, so it's very easy for small employers to fall into arrears.
done or given later than it should have been, usually with the result that it does not have the effect that it should have: · John made a belated attempt to apologize.· I got a belated birthday card from my cousin yesterday.· her belated realisation that he was in love with someone else
spoken use this when someone arrives somewhere late: · You're late! Hurry up and get your books out and get on with your work.· You're late again, Chris! You'll be in trouble if you don't get your act together soon.
to owe money to someone if you owe someone money, you have to pay them, either because you borrowed money from them or because you got something from them and have not yet paid for it: · The business collapsed, owing $50 million.· His job was to phone people who owed money and demand immediate payment.owe somebody something: · You still owe me $5.owe something to somebody: · We owe a lot of money to the bank.owe somebody something for something: · How much do we owe you for the milk?
if you are in debt , you owe a lot of money and you have difficulty paying it: · The helpline offers financial advice to people who are in debt.get into debt (=start being in debt): · We got into debt when my wife lost her job.be £1000/$2000 etc in debt (=owe that amount): · The report showed that most students were over £1000 in debt on leaving college.be heavily in debt (=owe a very large amount of money): · Karen was forced to give up her job to look after her daughter, and the family is now heavily in debt.
to owe money to your bank because you have spent more than you had in your bank account: · I'm always overdrawn at the end of the month.be $100/£200 etc overdrawn: · The bank wrote to tell us we were $500 overdrawn.
to have spent more than you have earned: · My son's bank account is usually in the red.· After five quarters in the red, the business will soon be profitable.be deep in the red (=owe a lot more than you have): · Overseas payments could keep the country deep in the red for the next decade.
to have not paid money, such as rent, that you should pay at a particular time every month, year etc - used especially in official or legal documents: · Two out of three tenants are in arrears.be 6 months/3 weeks etc in arrears: · The number of mortgages over 12 months in arrears is rising.be £1000/$200 etc in arrears: · The country is reported to be $6 billion in arrears on its $115 billion debt.be in arrears with/on: · The courts can obtain payments for those in arrears with consumer credit agreements.
to have not paid an amount that you should pay regularly at the right time: · I have no money in my bank account, and I'm behind with my rent.fall behind with something: · Unemployment is the major cause of people falling behind with their mortgage repayments.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY The rent money is two months in arrears. He was ordered to pay rent arrears of £550.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
The rent money is two months in arrears. (=become late with payments)
He was ordered to pay rent arrears of £550. British English (=money that you owe because you have not paid your rent)· The most common debts were rent arrears.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN· The Harrises were given two weeks to pay off mortgage arrears of £8,000.· The Harris family had been given just two weeks to find eight thousand pounds in mortgage arrears.· Three quarters involved unpaid rent or mortgage arrears.· Inequality Building society mortgage arrears have risen considerably in the last few years.· The Future 90 deal is available to borrowers who have £1,000 of county court judgments and three months of mortgage arrears.· This year 75,000 people have lost their homes through mortgage arrears.· To deal with priority debts - rent and mortgage arrears, heating and lighting.
· Argue, take advice - whatever - but rent arrears are a certain route to eviction.· Now I've been informed that I have £200 rent arrears.· Council tenants' rent arrears have risen to over £450 million, the Audit Commission reveals.· Latest figures show rent arrears stand at £10.8m for former tenants and £7.9m for current tenants.· Except in the case of rent arrears, almost anyone can act as a private bailiff.· Council house rent arrears amounted to over £1m, though they are at long last being reduced.
· Mr Clark says his department will be collecting poll tax arrears for years to come.· Meanwhile, in August he had been ordered to pay nearly F19,000,000 in tax arrears and associated fines.· Lagerfeld owed $ 12.5m in tax arrears.
VERB· Pat Rutter, 37, fell into arrears totalling £5,000 after she separated from her husband two years ago.· Mr. Mahmoud was not a satisfactory tenant and soon fell into arrears with the rent.· The problem of a borrower who fell into arrears through no fault of his own should be handled sympathetically and positively.· The assignee of a lease fell into arrears with the rent and the landlords brought an action against him in 1941.· In February 1982, after C. and D. had fallen into arrears on the mortgage payments the building society obtained possession.· But the Hammonds fell into arrears in payment of the mortgage instalments due to the building society.· However, after changes in the housing benefit regulations, his substantial income dropped and he fell into arrears with mortgage payments.
· The Harrises were given two weeks to pay off mortgage arrears of £8,000.· She now has a fortnight to pay off the arrears if she and her seven children are to keep their home.· What is needed is three simultaneous negotiations that I plan to undertake: One is to convince Congress to pay our arrears.· If interest payments are waived, the society is not obliged to pay arrears of interest in future years.· Even people in work can find their salaries are slashed, or routinely paid months in arrears.· They've cut it down and agreed I pay the arrears back at a pound a week.· You will be paid monthly in arrears at the rate of perannum. 4.
· The banks offered a 30 percent cut and asked for a US$1,000 million payment to reduce interest arrears of US$8,000 million.· Richardson reduced the arrears before a mistake by Walker allowed Olney to equalise.· Liphook rallied and Hight reduced the arrears.· John Gallagher reduced the arrears with a penalty and put Leeds ahead when he converted an Innes touchdown.· Bush added the conversion to reduce the arrears to 15-10.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► paid in arrears
1be in arrears if someone is in arrears, or if their payments are in arrears, they are late in paying something that they should pay regularly, such as rent: - In some areas, two out of three tenants are in arrears.
- Many countries are in arrears with their contributions.
- Over 60,000 Londoners are more than three months in arrears with their mortgage repayments.
- The country is reported to be $6 billion in arrears on its $115 billion debt.
- The courts can obtain payments for those in arrears with consumer credit agreements.
- The number of mortgages over 12 months in arrears is rising.
- The rent money is two months in arrears.
- The tax bills are sent out annually, so it's very easy for small employers to fall into arrears.
- Two out of three tenants are in arrears.
- A biennial budget providing for expenditure of US$180,000,000 was approved; many countries were in arrears with their contributions.
- But the building society says the mortgage repayments are in arrears.
- His landlady is in arrears with the mortgage.
- In the rural areas, angry farmers prevented officials from evicting those who were in arrears with their mortgage payments.
- It was found that the parish of Westoning was in arrears and the patient was ineligible.
- Subscribers who were in arrears were notified that no recommendation from them would be accepted.
- The original proposal was for no guaranteed funding and payment to be in arrears.
- Then there was a goofy game against Rutgers, in which Connecticut was in arrears 30-15 and also came back to win.
Many people are in arrears with their rent.be four weeks/three months etc in arrears The rent money is two months in arrears.fall/get into arrears (=become late with payments)2money that you owe someone because you have not made regular payments at the correct time: We’ve got 3 months' arrears to pay.rent/mortgage/tax arrears He was ordered to pay rent arrears of £550.3paid in arrears British English if your salary is paid in arrears, it is paid at the end of the period you have worked: a salary paid monthly in arrears