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owe Definition

owe (ō)

transitive verb owed, ow·ing

  1. to have an obligation to pay; be indebted to the amount of
  2. to have or feel the need to do, give, etc., as because of gratitude
  3. to have or cherish (a certain feeling) toward another: now only in owe a grudge
  4. to be indebted to someone for the existence of
  5. Obsolete to own; have

Etymology: ME owen < OE agan, to own, possess, have, akin to Goth aigan, OHG eigan < IE base *ēik-, to have as one's own, be capable (of) > Sans *īśē, (he) possesses

intransitive verb

to be in debt

owe Synonyms

owe

v.

be under obligation, be indebted to, be obligated to, have an obligation, ought to, be bound, become beholden, get on credit, feel bound, be bound to pay, be contracted to, be subject to draft for, be in debt for, have signed a note for, have borrowed, have lost, bind out*.

owe Usage Examples

Object

  • allegiance: Essentially, the difference is the question of owing allegiance.
  • debt: Do not forget to note down any debts owed to you or any money you owe to others.
  • monies: Other major elements are stocks of goods for sale and monies due to the charity less monies owed by the charity.
  • duty: The insurer owes a duty of good faith to the insured.
  • palfrey: Nova Oblata: Peter de Malo Lacu and Isabella his wife owed one palfrey.
  • money: I've seen peoples houses get gasoline bombed cos they owe drug dealers money.

Preposition: on

mortgage: That includes £ 15,000 he still owes on a mortgage after losing the former council house he was buying before his illness.

Subject

defendant: That is the LSC would pay the costs incurred under the representation order less the amount paid or owed by the defendant.

Adjective complement

  • much: Never have so few owed so much to so many.
  • more: Some people owed much more than the average: 26 % of those with some debt owed more than £ 5,000.

Modifying Another Word

  • partly: This is far superior to the fifties version, owed partly to the amazing special effects.
  • much: At the recent AGM I stressed my firm view that the success of the club owes much to its unity.
  • perhaps: Tom Clothier I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.
  • probably: Again, this is probably owing to your relaxed mind suffering less from the intrusive thoughts of a fully conscious mind.
  • mainly: Emissions increased by about 1.5 per cent between 2003 and 2004, mainly owing to increases in industrial and transport sector emissions.
  • still: However, some people are still owed quite a lot of money by the Club.

Used with why or when

who: Patronage politics are dominated by who knows who, who owes who, and how much they owe.

Infinitive complement

weather: They average around twelve cuts per season although this may vary owing to weather conditions.

Preposition: in

meantime: Making an appeal does not allow you to withhold Council Tax owed in the meantime.

Preposition: by

defendant: That is the LSC would pay the costs incurred under the representation order less the amount paid or owed by the defendant.

Browse dictionary entries near owe

  1. ow
  2. ovum
  3. ovule
  4. ovulation
  5. ovulate
  6. ovular
  7. ovoviviparous
  8. ovotestis
  9. ovonic
  10. ovolo
  1. owed
  2. OWelsh
  3. Owen
  4. Owen Stanley Range
  5. Owens
  6. Owensboro
  7. owing
  8. owl
  9. owl's-clover
  10. owlet