credit
/ KRED-it /
If a debit is an entry on the left side of an account, a credit is its mirror image: an entry written on the RIGHT side. That is all the word means at its core — right side. Every transaction in double-entry bookkeeping has at least one debit and at least one credit, and the two sides must add up to the same amount, which is how the books stay balanced.
Like its partner, a credit does not by itself mean 'increase' or 'decrease'. For liabilities, equity, and revenue, a credit increases the balance: when a business earns 1,000 dollars of sales, it credits Sales Revenue for 1,000 (revenue grows). For assets and expenses, a credit decreases the balance: paying out 1,000 dollars of cash is a credit to Cash (the asset shrinks). So a credit simply says 'put this amount on the right side of this account', and the account's type decides whether that is a rise or a fall.
In ordinary life 'credit' carries warm associations — a credit to your bank account, store credit, good credit. That everyday sense again reflects the bank's books, not yours: your deposit is the bank's liability, and crediting a liability increases it. This is why bank statements feel backwards to newcomers. Inside the accounting system itself the term is neutral and precise: a credit (abbreviated Cr) is the right side, and accountants pair it with the matching debit on every entry.
A consultant finishes a job and bills the client 2,000 dollars. She debits Accounts Receivable 2,000 (an asset she is owed goes up) and credits Service Revenue 2,000 (revenue goes up on the right).
Revenue is recorded with a credit; the matching debit lands in an asset account here.
Crediting an account is not 'giving it money'. For assets like Cash, a credit makes the balance go down, not up.