arrear
arrear — 名詞
1. the situation of being late in paying money that you owe, such as a loan, rent,
拖欠；拖延
未能按時付款的狀態
the situation of being late in paying money that you owe, such as a loan, rent, or a bill.
The Watanabe family fell into arrears on their mortgage after Mr. Watanabe lost his job at the factory.
渡邊先生在工廠失業後，渡邊家的房貸便開始出現拖欠。
fall into arrears on + mortgage/loan/rent
Tenants who are in arrears with their rent may receive a formal warning letter from the landlord.
房租拖欠的房客可能會收到房東的正式警告信函。
be in arrears with + rent/payment
Marco was three months in arrears on his car loan before he found a new job.
Marco 在找到新工作之前，車貸已經拖欠了三個月。
If a homeowner gets into arrears on a utility bill, the company may cut off the electricity.
如果屋主拖欠水電費帳單，電力公司可能會切斷供電。
Elena's student loan went into arrears while she was between jobs and unable to make payments.
Elena 的學貸在她待業期間無力償還，因而開始出現拖欠。
- overdue
adjective describing a payment that is late; 'in arrears' focuses on the person's state
- delinquent
more formal and serious; often used in legal or credit contexts in American English
- behind
more informal and general; 'behind on payments' is a common alternative
- up to date
means all payments have been made on time
- current
the opposite of being in arrears — no payments are overdue
文法句型
be in arrears (with/on something)
fall/get into arrears (with/on something)
用法筆記
This sense is almost always used in the plural form 'arrears' or in fixed phrases such as 'in arrears'. The singular 'arrear' is very rare in modern English.
常見錯誤
2. tasks, duties, or other work that should have been completed earlier but remain
積壓工作
尚未完成的工作或職責
tasks, duties, or other work that should have been completed earlier but remain undone.
After returning from her long trip, Nadia had a large arrear of correspondence to deal with at the office.
Nadia 結束長途旅行回到辦公室後，有一大堆積壓的信件需要處理。
arrear of + correspondence/work/business
The new manager spent the first week clearing the arrears of paperwork left by her predecessor.
新經理花了一週時間清理前任留下來的積壓文書工作。
There is always an arrear of administrative tasks waiting after the summer holidays in the department.
暑假過後，系上總是有大量積壓的行政工作等著處理。
A temporary assistant was hired to deal with the arrear of case files that had piled up.
一位臨時助理被聘來處理堆積如山的案件檔案。
- backlog
more common in modern English; refers to accumulated work needing attention
- pending matters
formal; focuses on items still waiting to be handled
文法句型
arrears of + work/business/correspondence
用法筆記
This sense is quite formal and less common in everyday conversation. It is typically used in British English with the preposition 'of' followed by a noun describing the type of undone work.
常見錯誤
3. a specific amount of money that is owed because it was not paid when it was due.
欠款；逾期款
到期未付的應繳款項
a specific amount of money that is owed because it was not paid when it was due.
The company is owed more than fifty thousand dollars in arrears on unpaid invoices from last year.
該公司去年未付的發票欠款已超過五萬美元。
amount + in arrears on + specific obligation
Benjamin used the money from selling his old car to clear all the arrears on his credit card debt.
Benjamin 用賣掉舊車的錢還清了信用卡債務的所有欠款。
clear the arrears on + debt type
The landlord sent a final notice demanding three months of rent arrears by the end of the week.
房東寄來最後通知，要求在本週末前支付三個月的租金欠款。
A payment plan was arranged so the family could pay off their council tax arrears over six months.
該家庭獲得了一個分期付款計劃，可以在六個月內償還他們的市政稅欠款。
Darius checked his bank statement and realised he had accumulated serious arrears on his personal loan.
Darius 查看了銀行對帳單，發現自己的個人貸款已經累積了嚴重的欠款。
- overdue payment
more general; simply describes the late status without the financial formality
- back payment
refers to a payment that should have been made earlier
- debt
broader in meaning; arrears are a specific type of overdue debt
- advance payment
payment made before a service is provided, the opposite of paying after
文法句型
pay/clear the arrears
amount in arrears
arrears of + amount
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: sense 3 refers to the actual unpaid amount of money (a countable debt), whereas sense 1 describes the state or condition of being behind. You can 'owe £500 in arrears' (sense 3) or 'be in arrears on your mortgage' (sense 1).
常見錯誤
4. the financial arrangement by which payment is made after the service period or t
期後付款
服務期結束後才付款
the financial arrangement by which payment is made after the service period or term has finished, rather than before it starts.
Most salaried employees are paid in arrears, receiving their wages at the end of each working month.
大多數受薪員工是期後付款，在每個工作月底領取薪水。
paid in arrears (payment after work completed)
The consultant agreed to payment in arrears at the end of each project phase.
該顧問同意在每個專案階段結束後採期後付款的方式。
Under a hire purchase agreement, interest is calculated in arrear rather than in advance.
在分期付款購買協議中，利息是期後計算的，而不是預先計算。
Utility bills are usually paid in arrears because they are based on the amount of energy actually used that month.
水電瓦斯帳單通常是期後付款，因為帳單是根據當月實際使用的能源量計算的。
- post-paid
a synonym in business contexts; describes payment after service delivery
- in advance
payment made before the service period begins; the direct opposite of 'in arrears'
- prepaid
paid before consumption or use
文法句型
paid in arrear(s)
in arrear of + specific term
用法筆記
The singular form 'in arrear' is more common in this sense in British accounting and legal usage, though 'in arrears' is also widely used. This is a technical, distinct meaning from the negative sense of being behind on payments.