uncollectible

IPA/ˌʌn.kəˈlek.tə.bəl/
KK[ənkəlˈɛktɪbəl]IPA/ˌʌn.kəˈlek.tə.bəl/

uncollectible — adjective

  • uncollectiblepositive
  • more uncollectiblecomparative
  • most uncollectiblesuperlative

1. describes a debt or amount of money that a business or person cannot get back be

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

describes a debt or amount of money that a business or person cannot get back because the person who owes the money cannot or will not pay it

Example

The bank wrote off the unpaid loan after deciding the debt was uncollectible.

pattern: write off as uncollectible

Hiro received a letter stating that his overdue taxes had been classified as uncollectible.

passive: classified as uncollectible

Common collocations
  • uncollectible debt
  • uncollectible account
  • uncollectible loan
  • uncollectible tax
  • declared uncollectible
  • written off as uncollectible
  • classified as uncollectible
  • uncollectible receivable
Synonyms
  • bad

    used as a technical term in accounting (bad debt), more common in everyday business language

  • irrecoverable

    more formal, common in legal documents; overlaps in meaning but less frequent in casual business contexts

  • unrecoverable

    similar to irrecoverable; often used for debts and also for data or losses, so slightly broader in scope

Antonyms
  • collectible

    the direct opposite — able to be collected or recovered

Grammar Patterns

uncollectible + noun

declared uncollectible

considered uncollectible

written off as uncollectible

Usage Note

Typically found in financial, banking, and legal contexts. The noun it modifies is almost always a type of debt or financial obligation — loan, account, tax, receivable, or balance. Common verb partners include 'write off', 'classify as', 'declare', 'label', and 'consider'.

Common Mistakes

The bill is still uncollectible this month.
The bill is still unpaid this month.
'uncollectible' means the debt will never be recovered, not just that it is overdue.
She had an uncollectible cold that lasted weeks.
She had a persistent cold that lasted weeks.
'uncollectible' is only used for debts or money, not for non-financial things.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All three words describe money that cannot be collected, but they differ in domain and tone. 'Bad' — as in 'bad debt' — is the most common in everyday accounting and business language; it is short, direct, and appears in standard financial statements. 'Irrecoverable' is more formal and legal; you see it in court rulings, insurance policies, and official correspondence. 'Unrecoverable' sits between the two — it is used for debts but also for data, files, or lost assets, so its scope is slightly broader. For example, a company's books might list 'bad debts expense', while a lawyer writes about 'irrecoverable advances' and an IT manager reports 'unrecoverable data from the crashed hard drive.'

bad (debt)irrecoverable ↗unrecoverable ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • write off as uncollectible
  • classify as uncollectible
  • consider uncollectible
  • declare uncollectible
  • label uncollectible

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Formed by adding the prefix 'un-' (meaning 'not') to 'collectible' (able to be collected). 'Collectible' itself comes from the verb 'collect', which entered English from Latin 'colligere' — 'com-' (together) + 'legere' (to gather). The suffix '-ible' means 'capable of'. The word is a relatively modern formation used chiefly in finance and law.

First known use

1796

1796, in the meaning defined above