money that is added to an account or kept there as a positive amount you can spend
The refund appeared as a $50 credit on her bank statement.
His phone still had enough credit for one more international call.
✦ From Latin ‘creditum’ meaning ‘something loaned or entrusted’.
praise or recognition given to someone for something good they have done
You should give yourself credit for finishing the project early.
The director claimed full credit for the film’s success.
✦ Same Latin root as sense 1, linked to the idea of trust and belief.
a unit that shows how much study a student has completed toward a qualification
This chemistry class is worth three credits.
He needs thirty credits to finish his degree.
✦ Shifted from financial meaning to an academic ‘value’ in late 19th-century U.S. universities.
an arrangement that lets you receive goods or services now and pay for them later
The shop allowed her to buy the sofa on credit.
Farmers often need credit to purchase seeds before harvest season.
✦ From the idea of trust a seller has that the buyer will pay later; commercial use grew in the 17th century.
a list of people who worked on a book, film, song, or other work, usually shown at the end
Her name appeared in the closing credits of the movie.
Stay after the credits because there is a hidden scene.
✦ Recorded in the early 20th century for film industry lists, extending the idea of ‘giving credit’.
to add money to someone’s account
The bank credited the interest to my savings account.
We will credit your card within five business days.
✦ Verb use dates from early 15th century, meaning ‘to believe’; the financial sense arose in the 17th century.
to say or believe that someone or something is responsible for a success, idea, or result
Many people credit Marie Curie with discovering radium.
He credited his success to supportive parents and hard work.
✦ Extends original sense of ‘believe’ to assigning cause or praise, first recorded in the 16th century.
