A medium to long term debt instrument used by large companies to borrow money, at a fixed rate of interest. It originally referred to a document that either creates a debt or acknowledges it, but in some countries the term is now used interchangeably with bond, loan stock or note. A debenture is like a certificate of loan evidencing the fact that the company is liable to pay a specified amount with interest, and although the money raised by the debentures becomes part of the company’s capital structure, it does not become share capital.