ENGLISH
REFERENCE

owing

v.
B1 Intermediate US //ˈoʊɪŋ// UK //ˈəʊɪŋ// ow·ing

v. to have a debt or a duty to pay someone back. You use this when you have borrowed money or received a favor that you need to return.

v. to be under an obligation to pay or render something to another person or entity. Transitive; requires both a direct and an indirect object, though the latter may be implied.


SIMPLE

I am still owing him fifty dollars for the concert tickets.

CONTEXTUAL

After the long renovation, the homeowner was still owing the contractor for the final week of labor.

COMPLEX

The struggling firm found itself owing vast sums to its creditors, leading to a desperate search for new investors to avoid total liquidation.

Synonyms
Usage

The verb is transitive and often used in the present participle form ('owing') to describe an outstanding debt.

Pitfall

I am owing to him moneyI owe him moneyWhen expressing a debt, the verb 'owe' is typically used in the simple present rather than the continuous form, and the indirect object follows the verb directly.

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