due

[ doo, dyoo ]

/ du, dyu /

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See synonyms for: due / dues / dueness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

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

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

owing or observed as a moral or natural right.

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

adequate; sufficient: a due margin for delay.

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

noun

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

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

adverb

directly or exactly: a due east course.

Obsolete. duly.

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Idioms about due

due to,

attributable to; ascribable to: The delay was due to heavy traffic.
because of; owing to: All planes are grounded due to fog.

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.

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

1275–1325; Middle English <Anglo-French; Middle French deu, past participle of devoir<Latin dēbēre to owe; see 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.

how to pronounce due

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OTHER WORDS FROM due

dueness, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH due

dew, do, due

Words nearby due

dudgeon, dudish, Dudley, dudleya, duds, due, due bill, duecento, due date, due diligence, duel

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use due in a sentence

With all due respect to his athletic skill, Gronkowski is not high on the list of NFL players that elicit carnal thoughts.
‘A Gronking to Remember’ Speed Read: 8 Naughtiest Bits|Emily Shire|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I was pregnant, uncomfortably so, for the first time and with twins, due the following March.
I Tried to Warn You About Sleazy Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2003|Vicky Ward|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But most of this gap, say the researchers who carried out the study, is due to discrimination.
How Good Dads Can Change the World|Gary Barker, PhD, Michael Kaufman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Now it can't open on my phone due to what appears to be software incompatibility.
My Week on Jewish Tinder|Emily Shire|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Whether he gets his full due in popular culture remains to be seen.
Ed Brooke: The Senate's Civil Rights Pioneer and Prophet of a Post-Racial America|John Avlon|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Two Battalions racing due North along the coast and foothills with levelled bayonets.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
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.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various

British Dictionary definitions for due

due

/ (djuː) /

adjective

(postpositive) immediately payable

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

requisite; fitting; proper

(prenominal) adequate or sufficient; enough

(postpositive) expected or appointed to be present or arrivethe train is now due

due to attributable to or caused by

noun

something that is owed, required, or due

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

adverb

directly or exactly; straighta course due west

Word Origin for due

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