# owe

/ˈoʊ/ (US) · /ˈəʊ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/owe
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. financial debt

verb · CEFR B1

to need to pay money back to someone because you borrowed it or bought something.

For teachers: 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).

### 2. moral obligation

verb · CEFR B2

to feel that you should do something for someone because they helped you in the past.

For teachers: 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'.

### 3. to have as a cause

verb · CEFR B2

to have something because of someone else's help or a specific reason.

For teachers: 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]'.

## Examples

- I still owe you ten dollars for lunch.
- After all the help you gave me during the move, I definitely owe you a big favor.
- While the company technically owes its success to a single breakthrough patent, the management team deserves credit for navigating the subsequent regulatory hurdles with such precision.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.