owe
v.-
1 financial debt (v.) B1 Intermediateto need to pay money back to someone because you borrowed it or bought something.
to be under a legal or contractual obligation to pay a sum of money to a person or entity.
ExampleI still owe my brother twenty dollars for the concert tickets he bought.
ExampleThe small business struggled to stay afloat because several major clients still owed them substantial sums for services rendered months ago.
UsageOften used with two objects: the person (indirect) and the amount (direct).
- be in debt
- be beholden
PitfallI 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.
-
2 moral obligation (v.) B2 Upper Intermediateto feel that you should do something for someone because they helped you in the past.
to be under a moral or social obligation to provide something or perform an action for someone.
ExampleI owe you a huge favour after you helped me move house last weekend.
ExampleAfter the public misunderstanding, the minister felt he owed his constituents a detailed explanation of the policy changes.
UsageCommonly used in the phrase 'owe someone an apology'.
- be indebted
Show 1 more senseShow fewer
-
3 to have as a cause (v.) B2 Upper Intermediateto have something because of someone else's help or a specific reason.
to attribute a particular success, state, or quality to a specific cause or person.
ExampleShe owes her success to her hard work and the support of her family.
ExampleThe city owes much of its current architectural character to the urban planning initiatives launched in the late nineteenth century.
UsageUsually follows the pattern 'owe [something] to [someone/something]'.
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”).