beholden
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of beholden
1300–50; Middle English, adj. use of beholden, old past participle of behold
Explanation
The adjective beholden describes owing someone for something the person did to help you — it's your duty to repay the person. If your army buddy saves your life, you're beholden to help him when he gets injured. Being beholden to someone means more than just feeling like you owe someone for a small favor. When you're beholden, it involves a bigger feeling of responsibility, one that sticks with you — and might even weigh on you — until you're able to repay it. Some people feel so uncomfortable being beholden to others that they try not to accept assistance from anyone out of worry over what they'd have to do in return.
Vocabulary lists containing beholden
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Refugee
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Instead, commission rates are beholden to industry norms — expectations that agents, buyers and sellers follow.
From MarketWatch • May 19, 2026
When an actor is so beholden to one role, it doesn’t just limit their creativity, but their perspective, too.
From Salon • Mar. 26, 2026
The military said it refused to be beholden to a corporation and pushed back, labeling Anthropic a threat akin to an enemy foreign power and blocking it from some government contracts.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2026
"Because I feel like if I've met someone and you have some sort of relationship with them, then you feel beholden in a way," he said, adding it creates a "different level of responsibility".
From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026
If he was ordained, he would defy the edict, invoking the tenth commandment, which clearly said he was beholden to no laws beyond the ten—including any edicts levied by the Scythedom.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
