owe Definition
owe (ō)
transitive verb owed, ow′·ing
- to have an obligation to pay; be indebted to the amount of
- to have or feel the need to do, give, etc., as because of gratitude
- to have or cherish (a certain feeling) toward another: now only in owe a grudge
- to be indebted to someone for the existence of
- 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.
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.
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