From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englisharrearsar‧rears /əˈrɪəz $ əˈrɪrz/ noun [plural] 1 → be in arrears2 OWEmoney 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 £550.3 → paid in arrears
Examples from the Corpus
arrears• The original proposal was for no guaranteed funding and payment to be in arrears.• Payment will be made in arrears every four weeks or quarterly, whichever you prefer.• 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.• The difference was exacerbated by Parliament's refusal to pay off the army's arrears of pay.• Long-term arrears continued to rise as societies tried to keep families in their homes.• Sir George said that arrears represented 8.5 percent of the total rent collectable in the 1990/91 financial year.rent/mortgage/tax arrears• Now I've been informed that I have £200 rent arrears.• Argue, take advice - whatever - but rent arrears are a certain route to eviction.• Meanwhile, in August he had been ordered to pay nearly F19,000,000 in tax arrears and associated fines.• The Harris family had been given just two weeks to find eight thousand pounds in mortgage arrears.• The Harrises were given two weeks to pay off mortgage arrears of £8,000.• Mr Clark says his department will be collecting poll tax arrears for years to come.• Absence from property, rent arrears and unapproved subletting will put tenants at considerable risk of eviction.• Some Mortgage Arrears and Court Judgements are acceptable.From Longman Business Dictionaryarrearsar‧rears /əˈrɪəzəˈrɪrz/ noun [plural]FINANCE1money that is owed because it has not been paid on timeUnemployment is the biggest cause of mortgage arrears.arrears ofoutstanding arrears of rent2be in arrears if someone is in arrears, or if their payments are in arrears, they are late in paying something that they should pay regularlyOne in eight mortgage payers is in arrears.221,900 mortgages were more than six months in arrears.Thousands of couples are almost £1000 in arrears.3fall/get into arrears to start to be in arrearsBorrowers couldn’t afford to keep up their payments and so fell into arrears.4be paid in arrears British English to receive your wages or payment for a service at the end of a period of time you have workedYou will be paid monthly in arrears.Origin arrears (1400-1500) arrear “backward, behind” ((14-18 centuries)), from Old French arere, from Vulgar Latin ad retro “to the back” 