Word
owe
US/ˈoʊ/
UK/ˈəʊ/
Definitions
01financial debt
B1 · Intermediate
v. to need to pay money back to someone because you borrowed it or bought something.
v. to be under a legal or contractual obligation to pay a sum of money to a person or entity.
“I still owe my brother twenty dollars for the concert tickets he bought.”
“The small business struggled to stay afloat because several major clients still owed them substantial sums for services rendered months ago.”
Usage
Often used with two objects: the person (indirect) and the amount (direct).
Pitfall
I owe to him ten dollars.
I owe him ten dollars.
The verb 'owe' is ditransitive; you do not need 'to' before the person you are paying.
Synonyms
02moral obligation
B2 · Upper Intermediate
v. to feel that you should do something for someone because they helped you in the past.
v. to be under a moral or social obligation to provide something or perform an action for someone.
“I owe you a huge favour after you helped me move house last weekend.”
“After the public misunderstanding, the minister felt he owed his constituents a detailed explanation of the policy changes.”
Usage
Commonly used in the phrase 'owe someone an apology'.
Synonyms
03to have as a cause
B2 · Upper Intermediate
v. to have something because of someone else's help or a specific reason.
v. to attribute a particular success, state, or quality to a specific cause or person.
“She owes her success to her hard work and the support of her family.”
“The city owes much of its current architectural character to the urban planning initiatives launched in the late nineteenth century.”
Usage
Usually follows the pattern 'owe [something] to [someone/something]'.
Collocations
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “owe” in context.
Verb
01. owe a debt of gratitude
“We owe a debt of gratitude to the volunteers who helped during the flood.”
verb + noun + of + noun
02. owe an apology to everyone
“I think you owe a sincere apology to everyone you offended during the meeting.”
verb + noun + prep + noun
03. owe money to the bank
“They still owe a significant amount of money to the bank after the renovation.”
verb + noun + prep + noun
04. owe success to hard work
“The athlete owes her recent success to hard work and a strict training regime.”
verb + noun + prep + adj + noun
Adverb
05. partly owe the result to luck
“They partly owe the positive result to luck, though their strategy was also solid.”
adv + verb + noun + prep + noun
06. still owe money
“Even after three years, he still owes money to his former business partner.”
adv + verb + noun
Real-World Examples
“We owe it to future generations to act.” “Scott Bodie that he became a free agent at the age of 27, and felt he owed it to himself to test the market and see what else was out there.” Etymology
From Middle English owen, from Old English āgan, from Proto-West Germanic aigan (“to own”), from Proto-Germanic aiganą, from Proto-Indo-European h₂eh₂óyḱe (“to possess, own”), reduplicated stative of h₂eyḱ- (“to own”). See also own, ought. Cognate with Sanskrit ईष्टे (īṣṭe, “to own, possess”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.B2 FirstIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.5.5–6.5TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 4.0–4.572–94TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.785–944
- Frequency
- Common
- Level
- B2 · Upper IntermediateOxford
- Updated
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