1) 在金融上，credit 是“贷方”，与“借方”相对。

• To be in credit账上有余款。
• He has $500 to his credit.他账上有五百美元的余额。
• To enter/to place a sum to somebody's credit将一笔款项记入某人的贷方。

总之，credit是某人正面的资产而不是负面的债务。作为动词，credit 作“记入贷方”解，具体的搭配，可以是 to credit somebody

2) 某人在金融活动中，即使账上没有余款，但凭他自己过去一段时间形成的信誉，也可以提前使用日后才会得到的钱。因此，credit 的意义就扩大，连信誉（即“信用”）也包括在内。例如美国许多推销信用卡的广告就有：Bad credit? No matter. （信用不佳吗？没关系。）从而 credit 也表示“赊账”。to give/allow/grant credit 或 to sell on credit 是“赊售”，to give credit to somebody 是“向某人赊售”，to buy on credit 是“赊购”。

3) 由此引申，在金融领域之外，某人的有利资源，无论有形无形，也是 credit。但这个 credit 一般不是原先固定拥有的资源，而是当前发生变化而增添的资源（这与 1) 中 credit 的金融意义是一致的）。如果谈的是精神领域，往往就是新增添的声誉、功劳。

• I can't take all the credit for it.这件事不全是我的功劳。
• We should give her credit for what she has achieved.她做出的成绩，我们应该记她一功。
• They are credited with having invented the game.发明这个游戏的功劳，记到了他们名下。
• Much of the credit for this upgrading of human rights should be given (或 should go) to nongovernmental organizations.人权这次得到提升，很大部分功劳应该归于非政府组织。
• He got no credit for it.他在这件事情上分不到一点功劳。
• They took all the credit for the discovery.他们把发现的功劳全都包揽了。
• The Smiths have 127 publications to their credit.史密斯夫妇发表过 127 篇著作。
• To its credit, the World Bank in particular has supported more government-reform projects in recent years.说句公道话，世界银行近年来支持的政府改革项目有所增加。
• But credit where credit is due, he single-handedly built Stanford Enterprises into one of the biggest privately held conglomerates in the world.但是，公道话该说还是要说，他单枪匹马把斯坦福公司建设成了世界上最大的私营多种经营企业之一。
• The bank could then claim a lot of credit if things go well and just blame the IMF if the economy collapses.如果事情进行得顺利，银行就可以把功劳归于自己，而如果经济崩溃，就可以责怪国际货币基金。
• He is a credit to his family.他替家里争气。
• I think that children never give parents enough credit.我觉得孩子对父母的辛劳总是认识不足。
• They may be choosing the word subconsciously as a means of giving credit where due with one hand, and at the same time watering it down with the other.他们选择这个单词，也许是下意识地作为一种手段，一方面该怎么样就怎么样，另一方面则同时把这个单词的意义冲淡。
• Do you give Republican credit for anything? ( US News & World Report, May 19, 2008, p.18)你觉得共和党人也有点功劳吗？
• President Bush wants credit for steering the economy out of recession.布什总统想得到引导经济脱离衰退的功劳。

credit 的意义之广，甚至可以指“将功赎罪”中的“功”或者“减轻刑罚”的微小理由。

• Al-Arian, 48, was sentenced to four years and nine months, but he will get credit for the three years and three months he has already served while being held before and after his trial.四十八岁的阿尔—阿里安被判处四年零九个月徒刑，但是他在审判前后被羁押的三年零三个月将计算在内，抵消刑期。

又例如：纽约州 2009 年新法案取消了杀人犯和强奸犯第二次犯罪刑期申请保释时可以将第一次已服刑的刑期时间计算在内的规定，这里的“刑期”称为 parole credit，算是罪犯服刑记录中他积累的“资产”（或“存款”）。

4) credit 作为及物动词（属第一类及第四类动词），如果直接宾语是人，就是“（把某事）归功于（某人）”、“（把某言行）归于（某人）”、（“某事”如果说出，可以用 with 引入）。

• Survival of the fittest. This phrase and concept were originated not by Charles Darwin, to whom they are generally attributed, but by Herbert Spencer, from whom Darwin took them up, not omitting to credit him.适者生存。这句话和这个思想，尽管通常认为首创者是达尔文，但其实是斯宾塞，达尔文是从斯宾塞那里拿过来的，而且没有忽略说明出处。
• Submit a quote you like and its source at Quote. Newsweek. com. Next week, we'll print our favorite and credit the reader who sent it.您如果看到有您喜欢的引言，请连同出处投递 Quote. Newsweek. com。本刊将在下周刊登出中选的引言，并登出投递者姓名。
• I credit him with kindness.我觉得他为人和善。
• He is credited with the victory. / The victory is credited to him.胜利的功劳归了他。
• Schroeder has incensed Washington with his loud opposition to US invasion of Iraq, a stand credited with helping him win re-election last month.施罗德大声疾呼反对美国出兵伊拉克，激怒了华盛顿，但他的这个立场对于帮助他在上个月赢得连选连任，是功不可没的。
• Experts credit former president (=Carter) with highlighting human rights.专家们认为前总统在突出人权方面是有功的。

也可以用 to credit X to Y（把 X 归功于 Y）。

• He credits his career path to his father's love of the challenge of cooking over fire.他把自己事业的历程，归功于他父亲喜欢冒险在火上烧烤食品。

但是 credit 也可以以物为直接宾语，不再附加其他成分，意思是“表明某物出自何人之手”。

• The editor chose not to credit the photo out of concern for the photographer's safety.编者由于担心摄影者的安全，没有刊登该幅照片摄影者的姓名。

5) credit 作为及物动词，也可以有简单的相当于 believe 的意思。

• It seems hard to credit in Britain of all places, but apparently there has just not been enough rain and we are heading for a drought. (BBC, March 17, 2006)偏偏在英国出现这样的事，似乎难以相信，但是显然前一阵下雨量不够，我们将要遇到旱灾。

6) 由于 credit 作为动词有“（把某事）归功于（某人）”的意思，因而电影片和电视片的“片头”（或“片尾”）的一大串导演、演员、工作人员名单，就叫做 credits。

7) 在学校念的“学分”也叫 credit（可数名词）。

• get four credits for English英语念了四个学分。