due

[ doo, dyoo ]
See synonyms for: dueduesdueness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. owed at present; having reached the date for payment: This bill is due.

  2. owing or owed, irrespective of whether the time of payment has arrived: This bill is due next month.

  1. owing or observed as a moral or natural right.

  2. rightful; proper; fitting: due care; in due time.

  3. adequate; sufficient: a due margin for delay.

  4. under engagement as to time; expected to be ready, be present, or arrive; scheduled: The plane is due at noon.

noun
  1. something that is due, owed, or naturally belongs to someone.

  2. Usually dues . a regular fee or charge payable at specific intervals, especially to a group or organization: membership dues.

adverb
  1. directly or exactly: a due east course.

  2. Obsolete. duly.

Idioms about due

  1. due to,

    • attributable to; ascribable to: The delay was due to heavy traffic.

    • because of; owing to: All planes are grounded due to fog.

  2. give someone his / her due,

    • to give what justice demands; treat fairly: Even though he had once cheated me, I tried to give him his due.

    • to credit a disliked or dishonorable person for something that is likable, honorable, or the like.

  1. pay one's dues, to earn respect, a position, or a right by hard work, sacrifice, or experience: She's a famous musician now, but she paid her dues with years of practice and performing in small towns.

Origin of due

1
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Anglo-French; Middle French deu, past participle of devoir, from Latin dēbēre “to owe”; cf. debt

usage note For due

11. Due to as a prepositional phrase meaning “because of, owing to” has been in use since the 14th century: Due to the sudden rainstorm, the picnic was moved indoors. Some object to this use on the grounds that due is historically an adjective and thus should be used only predicatively in constructions like The delay was due to electrical failure. Despite such objections, due to occurs commonly as a compound preposition and is standard in all varieties of speech and writing.

pronunciation note For due

See new.

Other words from due

  • dueness, noun

Words that may be confused with due

Words Nearby due

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use due in a sentence

  • Two Battalions racing due North along the coast and foothills with levelled bayonets.

  • Not only are they required to do things in a proper orderly manner, but people have to treat them with due deference.

    Children's Ways | James Sully
  • He came back in due time, but bringing nothing for me, and I felt that my appeal had been in vain.

    The Boarded-Up House | Augusta Huiell Seaman
  • Austria's fall was due to the lethargy and hesitation of the courts of Berlin and St. Petersburg.

    Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-Pattison
  • They shall plan how this may be done with due propriety, and shall advise us of their action.

British Dictionary definitions for due

due

/ (djuː) /


adjective
  1. (postpositive) immediately payable

  2. (postpositive) owed as a debt, irrespective of any date for payment

  1. requisite; fitting; proper

  2. (prenominal) adequate or sufficient; enough

  3. (postpositive) expected or appointed to be present or arrive: the train is now due

  4. due to attributable to or caused by

noun
  1. something that is owed, required, or due

  2. give a person his due to give or allow a person what is deserved or right

adverb
  1. directly or exactly; straight: a course due west

Origin of due

1
C13: from Old French deu, from devoir to owe, from Latin debēre; see debt, debit

usage For due

The use of due to as a compound preposition (the performance has been cancelled due to bad weather) was formerly considered incorrect, but is now acceptable

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with due

due

In addition to the idiom beginning with due

  • due to

also see:

  • give credit (where it's due)
  • give someone his or her due
  • give the devil his due
  • in due course
  • pay one's dues
  • with all due respect

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.