owe
3 ENTRIES FOUND:
owes;
owed;
owing
owes;
owed;
owing
Britannica Dictionary definition of OWE
1
:
to need to pay or repay money to a person, bank, business, etc.
[+ object]
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I still owe money on the car. [=I have not yet paid back all the money I borrowed to buy the car]
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We owe no income tax.
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He owes me $5.
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Don't I owe money to you? = Don't I owe you money?
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I owe the bank a lot of money.
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Additional payments are owed on the mortgage.
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How much is owed? = What is the amount owed?
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How much do I owe (you) for this?
[no object]
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I still owe on the car.
2
[+ object]
a
:
to need to do or give something to someone who has done something for you or given something to you
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I owe you a drink/favor.
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I owe you my thanks.
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(informal) What do you mean you won't help? You owe me!
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She still owes me for all the times I've helped her out.
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Thanks for your help. I owe you one. [=I will give you help when you need it]
b
— used to say that something should be done for or given to someone
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You owe me an explanation.
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I owe you an apology.
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The senator is owed a degree of respect. [=the senator deserves some respect]
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We owe it to the veterans to build a memorial. [=we should build a memorial to honor and thank the veterans]
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You owe it to yourself to have fun. [=you deserve to let yourself have fun]
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He owes it to himself to travel while he still can.
3
[+ object]
— used to indicate the person or thing that made something possible
— often + to
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She owes her family for her success. [=her family enabled her to become successful]
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I owe my success to my teachers. [=my teachers deserve credit for my success]
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She owes her success to hard work. [=she has succeeded because of hard work]
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He owes his wealth to his father.
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He owes his fame to several movies. [=he is famous because he was in several movies]
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His success owes more to luck than skill. [=is more because of luck than skill]
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I owe my life to the surgeon's skill. [=the surgeon's skill saved my life]
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We owe our understanding of gravity to Newton.
