owe
verb (used with object)
to be under obligation to pay or repay.
were owing
-
past progressiveof owe.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
It was not entirely to the difference between father and daughter that these varied impressions were owing.
From The O'Donoghue Tale Of Ireland Fifty Years Ago by Charles James Lever
Physically tired as they were, owing to the nervous excitement in the atmosphere of their day's surroundings, sleep seemed very far off.
From There was a King in Egypt by Norma Lorimer
We resolved to send off the "percentage" to Irving & Company, and to pay all debts we were owing at home.
From Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to London Prison Fifteen Years in Solitude by Austin Bidwell
Some of these omissions were owing to corrupt text, some to extreme obscurity of the original, and some merely to the fact that the original was deemed uninteresting.
From The Translations of Beowulf A Critical Bibliography by Chauncey Brewster Tinker
This Duchy had been mortgag'd by Spain, as Security for considerable Sums which were owing by that Crown to the Elector, who in consequence put his Troops to quarter there for the Winter.
