arrears vs debt

arrears and debt both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
arrears	Yes	No	No	No
debt	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, debt is a hypernym of arrears; that is, debt is a word with a broader meaning than arrears:

arrears (noun)	debt (noun)
an unpaid overdue debt	an obligation to pay or do something
the state of being behind in payments	money or goods or services owed by one person to another
	the state of owing something (especially money)