1 [noncount] a : money that a bank or business will allow a person to use and then pay back in the future
▪ banks that extend credit to the public ▪ Some banks will charge a fee if you go over your credit limit. [=if you spend more money than the bank has agreed to let you use] ◊If you buy something on credit, you take it and promise to pay for it later.
▪ Back then, stores allowed their customers to buy food on credit.
b : a record of how well you have paid your bills in the past
▪ How's your credit? ▪ Do you have good credit? [=have you paid back money you owe, paid your bills when they are due, etc.?] ▪ You need to have a strong credit history and a good job in order to get a mortgage. 2 [count] a : an amount of money that is added to an account
▪ A credit of $50 was added to your account. — opposite debit
b : an amount of money that is subtracted from the amount that must be paid
▪ Families with children in college will receive a tax credit this year. [=the amount that they owe in taxes will be reduced] 3 [noncount] : praise or special attention that is given to someone for doing something or for making something happen
▪ All the credit must go to the play's talented director. ▪ She's finally getting the credit she deserves. ▪ He shared the credit with his parents. ▪ You've got to give her credit; she knows what she's doing. — often + for ▪ They were given credit for the discovery. ▪ He didn't actually write the essay, but he got credit for it. ▪ You have to give us credit for trying. We did the best we could. ▪ She never took credit for her achievements. ▪ Party leaders took/claimed full credit for the country's progress. [=they claimed that they alone caused the country's progress] ◊If you give credit where credit is due you praise someone who deserves to be praised.
▪ In receiving this award, I must give credit where credit is due and acknowledge all the people who helped me. 4 [noncount] : a good opinion that people have about someone or something ◊Someone or something that brings credit to you or does you credit causes people to think of you in favorable way.
▪ She is a talented journalist who has brought credit to the newspaper. ▪ The fact that administrators fired the offending teacher immediately does the school credit. ◊Something that is to your credit causes people to have a more favorable opinion of you.
▪ It's to her credit that she admitted her mistake. ▪ To his credit, Mr. Smith has offered to pay for the damages. ◊Something that does you no credit causes people to have a less favorable opinion of you.
▪ It does them no credit to continue fighting over this issue. 5 [singular] : a source of honor or pride for someone or something — used in the phrase a credit to ▪ You are a credit to your family and your country. ▪ He's an excellent athlete and a credit to the sport. 6 credits [plural] : a list of the names of the people who have worked on or performed in a movie, television program, etc.
▪ the movie's opening/closing credits ▪ Her name was listed in the credits. ▪ We always stay to watch the credits. 7 a : a unit that measures a student's progress towards earning a degree in a school, college, etc. [count] ▪ So far, you've earned a total of 12 credits. [noncount] ▪ Our program gives academic credit for working with several social service organizations.
b [noncount] : the amount of points earned for work done on a test, exam, project, etc.
▪ Students will only receive partial credit for correct answers that are not written as complete sentences. ▪ To earn full credit [=the total amount of points possible] you must include at least three maps with your project. ▪ Answer this last question correctly for extra credit. — sometimes used figuratively. ▪ They deserve respect for making the event happen, and they get extra credit for doing it in a way that included everyone.