ought

¹

[ awt ]

auxiliary verb

1. (used to express duty or moral obligation):

   Every citizen ought to help.

2. (used to express justice, moral rightness, or the like):

   He ought to be punished. You ought to be ashamed.

3. (used to express propriety, appropriateness, etc.):

   You ought to be home early. We ought to bring her some flowers.

4. (used to express probability or natural consequence):

   That ought to be our train now.

noun

1. duty or obligation.

ought

²

[ awt ]

noun

1. aught ².

ought

¹

/ ɔːt /

verb

1. to indicate duty or obligation

   you ought to pay your dues

2. to express prudent expediency

   you ought to be more careful with your money

3. (usually with reference to future time) to express probability or expectation

   you ought to finish this work by Friday

4. to express a desire or wish on the part of the speaker

   you ought to come next week

ought

²

/ ɔːt /

noun

1. a less common word for nought

ought

³

/ ɔːt /

pronoun

1. a variant spelling of aught 1

Usage Note

Ought1 forms its negative in a number of ways. Ought not occurs in all types of speech and writing and is fully standard: The conferees ought not to waste time on protocol. Oughtn't, largely a spoken form, is found mainly in the Midland and Southern dialects of the United States, where it is almost the universal form. Hadn't ought is a common spoken form in the Northern dialect area. It is sometimes condemned in usage guides and is uncommon in educated speech except of the most informal variety. Didn't ought and shouldn't ought are considered nonstandard. Both positive and negative forms of ought are almost always followed by the infinitive form: We ought to go now. You ought not to worry about it. Occasionally, to is omitted after the negative construction: Congress ought not adjourn without considering this bill.

Usage

In correct English, ought is not used with did or had. I ought not to do it, not I didn't ought to do it ; I ought not to have done it, not I hadn't ought to have done it

Word History and Origins

Origin of ought¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English ought, aught, Old English āhte, past tense of āgan “to owe ”

Word History and Origins

Origin of ought¹

Old English āhte, past tense of āgan to owe ; related to Gothic aihta

Origin of ought²

C19: mistaken division of a nought as an ought; see nought

Synonym Study

See must ¹.

Example Sentences

There was a string, dating back to the late oughts, when I rarely missed one.

From Fortune

When companies do bad things they ought to be held accountable for them.

From The Daily Beast

We ought to seek Chinese cooperation in a response to this North Korean act of aggression.

From The Daily Beast

Then when we arrive at his flat in Shepherd's Bush following the escape, perhaps there ought to be remnants of the ladder.

From The Daily Beast

The officers explained that those Sikhs had been lynched to death and that Singh ought to anticipate the same fate for himself.

From The Daily Beast

“Novelist good for nothing else,” said Samuel Beckett, and that ought to be taken as a compliment.

From The Daily Beast

And is this a mere fantastic talk, or is this a thing that could be done and that ought to be done?

From Project Gutenberg

I, therefore, deliver it as a maxim, that whoever desires the character of a proud man ought to conceal his vanity.

From Project Gutenberg

When we speak against one capital vice, we ought to speak against its opposite; the middle betwixt both is the point for virtue.

From Project Gutenberg

I really ought to visit my California estates, and I have always wanted to see that part of America.

From Project Gutenberg

But she told Grandfather Mole that it was all right—that she knew a person of his age ought not to go without his breakfast.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• allow
• become
• consider
• enjoy
• experience
• feel
• know
• leave
• need
• permit
• see
• suffer
• undergo