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noun ADJ. debt, mortgage, rent, tax VERB + ARREARS fall into, get into, owe They fell into arrears with their rent. The government has agreed to pay all arrears owed to members of the armed forces. | accumulate The country had accumulated arrears of $80 million on loans of $400 million. | pay (off) struggling to pay off her mortgage arrears | recover The local authority must try to recover arrears of rent. ARREARS + VERB amount to sth, total sth By this time the arrears amounted to £12,000. PREP. in ~ She was six months in arrears with the mortgage. You will be paid monthly in arrears. | ~ on There have been sharp increases in arrears on interest payments.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary