Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization — the lingua franca of leveraged finance and the denominator in the two most-watched credit ratios (Total Debt/EBITDA leverage, EBITDA/Interest coverage). Used as a proxy for recurring operating cash flow; in direct lending the agreement-defined 'Adjusted EBITDA' includes negotiated add-backs and a synergy-haircut convention because the contract-level definition (not GAAP EBITDA) controls covenant tests.