Being in arrears is a financial term used to describe a situation in which someone has not paid their debt on time. It is often used to refer to an individual or business that owes money and is BEHIND on payments. This can be seen in the crossword solutions for the term BE IN ARREARS, which include OWE (3 letters), LATE (4 letters), BEHIND (6 letters), and DEBTS (5 letters). The verb form of this term is OWES (4 letters).