Owens

American  

[oh-uhnz] / ˈoʊ ənz /

noun

1. Jesse John Cleveland, 1913–80, U.S. athlete.

2. a river in E California, flowing from the Sierra Nevada S to the Owens Valley basin: diverted to the Los Angeles Aqueduct. 120 miles (193 km) long.

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Owens British  

/ ˈəʊɪnz /

noun

1. Jesse, real name John Cleveland Owens. 1913–80, US Black athlete: won four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics (1936)

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Example Sentences

Commissioner Frank Owens, a dissenting vote, said the mayor deserved some slack: “Everybody has a bad night.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

Circuit Judge John B. Owens noted in the opinion that the jury instructions explicitly cautioned against conviction based on a lower standard than negligence, calling the evidence against Boylan “overwhelming.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026

The practice of harvesting search history and personal data reaches far beyond the airline industry, Owens said, and corporations across all industries use “personal data against consumers to extract maximum profit.”

From MarketWatch • Apr. 20, 2026

President Emmanuel Macron and his wife have filed a defamation against Owens.

From Salon • Apr. 9, 2026

I ran like Jesse Owens with the Big M. Meanwhile, the story of the rats grew larger.

From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt