arrears

This term carries a heavy administrative and legal tone, typically appearing in financial statements, rental agreements, or debt collection notices. It suggests a failure to meet a scheduled obligation, creating a sense of mounting pressure or delinquency rather than a simple missing payment.

Grammatically, this noun is treated as a plural form and does not have a singular counterpart in this context. Because it is a plural-only noun, it requires plural verb agreement (e.g., "arrears are") and cannot be counted with numbers or used with the indefinite article "a".