owe
Americanverb (used with object)
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owes,
present (3rd person singular)
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owed,
past participle, past
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owing
present participle
-
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)
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owes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
owed,
past participle, past
-
owing
present participle
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 )
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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owesimple
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owessimple
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have owedperfect
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has owedperfect
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am owingprogressive
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are owingprogressive
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is owingprogressive
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have been owingperfect progressive
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has been owingperfect progressive
Past
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owedsimple
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had owedperfect
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was owingprogressive
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were owingprogressive
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had been owingperfect progressive
Future
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
Explanation
People owe things when they're in debt to someone. A friend can owe you a favor, and your employer owes you a paycheck. When you talk about owing, it has to do with what someone deserves from someone else. If you borrow library books, you owe them to the library after a few weeks. When you take out a loan, you owe that money to the bank. You can also owe favors and more abstract things. If a friend did something bad to you, but they've been your friend a long time, you probably owe them a second chance.
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.
See Examples For:
Yet if a home’s value was below the exemption level, they would owe no taxes to their county, city or special districts.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
While a Roth IRA must also be emptied by year 10, the beneficiary doesn’t owe income tax on withdrawals as long as the Roth IRA has met the five-year holding requirement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
My house is worth around $340,000 and I still owe $58,000 on it, with a payment of $1,150 a month.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
Under current rules, if a Pacific Palisades resident who lost their home in the fire sold the vacant lot for, say, $6 million, they would owe $240,000 in transfer taxes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
“We don’t even know this guy, so stop acting like we owe him anything.”
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
The jury in Tampa, Fla., found that air taxi startup Joby Aviation owes roughly $116.9 million to aviation supplier Aerosonic after it allegedly breached a confidentiality agreement and mishandled trade secrets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
The pricing strategy comes as Costco faces a federal lawsuit filed in March alleging that the company owes shoppers tariff-related refunds following a Supreme Court decision striking down certain levies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
"I think that the state owes me a big apology," she said.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
Slemmer's mother, May Martinez, who also was in attendance, angrily told a local news outlet that the "state owes me a big apology," and that it had failed her family.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
He does not interrupt to say that Gina owes him money for the swearing jar.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
The 24.4-cent federal tax normally owed when that fuel hits the road is deferred through Dec. 31, and the IRS is to stop writing penalties.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
"Thousands of workers are owed substantial and long-overdue increases and we want them to receive every penny," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
Dr. Ashish K. Jha, an American scientist and biosecurity expert, said Russia owed the world transparency over the incident.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
A court hearing is set for December to determine what is owed to other victims.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
There were others there, waiting for the owners to pay the rent they owed and get them back, but it never happened.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
Saudi Aramco's chief executive Amin Nasser said Monday global oil stockpiles are "scarily thin" owing to the US-Iran war.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
BBC Sport has contacted each of those bodies and been given no indication that any kind of investigation has begun, but some do not routinely confirm investigations owing to confidentiality.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
Mr. Ueda on Friday tried to reset expectations with a commitment to stay on guard against inflation even if price rises slow below the 2% target owing to softer energy prices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
The Fed announcement is followed Friday by the Bank of Japan, which is also expected to hike owing to rising inflation as well as the need to maintain support for the yen.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
“Land rush means we have a chance to claim our own acres. Our own home. Not beholden, owing nobody.”
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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.
