a situation in which the large debts owed by a number of individuals, organizations or countries threaten to overwhelm them, so that they become unable to service their debts which, in turn, may threaten the stability of larger structures
The third-world debt crisis worsened after 1980.
Britain's universities face a £1 bn debt crisis.
Britain's worsening personal debt crisis
Examples of 'debt crisis' in a sentence
debt crisis
But some economists are now forecasting that Britain could face a debt crisis next year.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Sadly the American people do not seem prepared to face their debt crisis as the British have.
The Sun (2011)
It came as economists warned Britain faced a full-blown debt crisis next year.