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owe definition

owe (ō)

transitive verb owed, owing 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

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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*.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

owe Usage Examples

Object

  • duty: The insurer owes a duty of good faith to the insured.

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.

Modifying Another Word

  • much: At the recent AGM I stressed my firm view that the success of the club owes much to its unity.

Used with why or when

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

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.
owe usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

owe quotes

Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

-Bible (NewTestament)

   I owe nothing to Women's Lib.

-Thatcher, Margaret HildaThatcher, Baroness

owe quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"owe." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/owe>

APA Style

owe. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/owe

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