owe
Americanverb (used with object)
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to be under obligation to pay or repay.
to owe money to the bank; to owe the bank interest on a mortgage.
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to be in debt to.
He says he doesn't owe anybody.
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to be indebted (to) as the cause or source of.
to owe one's fame to good fortune.
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to have or bear (a feeling or attitude) toward someone or something.
to owe gratitude to one's rescuers.
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Obsolete. to possess; own.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to be under an obligation to pay (someone) to the amount of
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(intr) to be in debt
he still owes for his house
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(often foll by to) to have as a result (of)
he owes his success to chance
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to feel the need or obligation to do, give, etc
to owe somebody thanks
to owe it to oneself to rest
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to hold or maintain in the mind or heart (esp in the phrase owe a grudge )
Etymology
Origin of owe
before 900; Middle English owen to possess, be under obligation, have to pay; Old English āgan to possess; cognate with Old High German eigan, Old Norse eiga. See own, ought 1
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.
That means taxpayers are entitled to any surplus the government receives from the sale of a home beyond the debt they owe.
Throughout the 1960s, anxiety grew in some circles that this would result in a crisis owing to sustained U.S. trade deficits and America’s role in providing liquidity to Europe.
Oceanwide also owes back taxes to Los Angeles County and money to repay the city for security put in place in response to the graffiti and other incidents such as parachute leaps.
From Los Angeles Times
However, this action does not address the estimated $175 billion in tariff refunds that the federal government will now owe due the court’s ruling.
From MarketWatch
But Sanders and the progressives owe much to Jackson.
From Salon
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.
