owe
Americanverb (used with object)
-
owes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
owed,
past participle, past
-
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.
-
to be in debt to.
He says he doesn't owe anybody.
-
to be indebted (to) as the cause or source of.
to owe one's fame to good fortune.
-
to have or bear (a feeling or attitude) toward someone or something.
to owe gratitude to one's rescuers.
-
Obsolete. to possess; own.
verb (used without object)
-
owes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
owed,
past participle, past
-
owing
present participle
verb
-
to be under an obligation to pay (someone) to the amount of
-
(intr) to be in debt
he still owes for his house
-
(often foll by to) to have as a result (of)
he owes his success to chance
-
to feel the need or obligation to do, give, etc
to owe somebody thanks
to owe it to oneself to rest
-
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
-
owesimple
-
owessimple
-
have owedperfect
-
has owedperfect
-
am owingprogressive
-
are owingprogressive
-
is owingprogressive
-
have been owingperfect progressive
-
has been owingperfect progressive
Past
-
owedsimple
-
had owedperfect
-
was owingprogressive
-
were owingprogressive
-
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:
"We are demanding that they pay us what they owe us," Francisca Staiti, general secretary of the teachers' union Conadu Historica told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
She followed the statement by looking straight into the camera and addressing Gaga, “I hope you watch, and I hope you remember what you did. And I feel like you owe me an apology.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
We owe $280,000 on our $1.1 million house.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
Deters said he didn’t owe Guilfoyle any balance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
And it never hurts to have a line cook owe you a favor.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
She makes about $78,000 a year, has roughly $160,000 saved for retirement and owes $210,000 on her own small house, which she’s been renting out since she moved in with mom.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026
The lender owes tax on the interest, and the borrower often can deduct it if he or she itemizes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
The jury found that Joby owes Aerosonic more than $48 million for misappropriating trade secrets and more than $68 million for breaking a nondisclosure agreement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 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
In the kitchen he wrote his note—‘Mr. Hancock owes the Boston Observer eight shillings,’ folded it, and on the outside wrote, ‘John Hancock, Esquire.’
From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes
The two-time major champion was directly owed $7.5 million by LIV when it filed for bankruptcy last month.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
The Crown Estate say they have not given any money to Mountbatten-Windsor at the conclusion of his lease and have now received the net £1.5m payment they were owed.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
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
A source familiar with the figures told BBC Sport the creditors list outlines the "amount owed and not paid for Q3" of 2026, not the full amounts.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
Soon he produced his pocket-book: “Here,” said he, offering me a note; it was fifty pounds, and he owed me but fifteen.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Financials are seen growing by around 5%, owing to tougher comparisons and pressure from higher bond yields, she says.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 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
Consumer spending has been growing faster than personal incomes in recent quarters, perhaps in part owing to the wealth effect from a booming stock market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
The Ekonomichna Pravda newspaper reported that the finance ministry had postponed spending on preparing the energy system for winter until December owing to a lack of funds.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
Mott wrote to Stanton, urging her to keep her expectations low: “The convention will not be as large as it otherwise might be, owing to the busy time with the farmers, harvest, etc.”
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
