Owe Definition & Meaning

American

British

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms owe American [oh] / oʊ /

verb (used with object)

owed, owing

1. to be under obligation to pay or repay.

   to owe money to the bank; to owe the bank interest on a mortgage.

2. to be in debt to.

   He says he doesn't owe anybody.

3. to be indebted (to) as the cause or source of.

   to owe one's fame to good fortune.

4. to have or bear (a feeling or attitude) toward someone or something.

   to owe gratitude to one's rescuers.

5. Obsolete. to possess; own.

verb (used without object)

owed, owing

1. to be in debt.

   Neither lend nor owe. Who owes for the antipasto?

owe British / əʊ /

verb

1. to be under an obligation to pay (someone) to the amount of

2. (intr) to be in debt

   he still owes for his house

3. (often foll by to) to have as a result (of)

   he owes his success to chance

4. to feel the need or obligation to do, give, etc

   to owe somebody thanks

   to owe it to oneself to rest

5. to hold or maintain in the mind or heart (esp in the phrase owe a grudge )

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of owe

before 900; Middle English owen to possess, be under obligation, have to pay; Old English āgan to possess; cognate with Old High German eigan, Old Norse eiga. See own, ought 1

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.

Still, experts say the Grinch’s 2025 glow-up likely owes as much to holiday exhaustion and broad consumer pessimism as it does vertical video virility.

From Los Angeles Times

"I owe nothing, I fear nothing. I have nothing to hide," he once asserted.

From Barron's

He is seeking unspecified damages in addition to not owing the Bulldogs anything.

From Los Angeles Times

However, other figures did provide some cause for thought, with a gauge of consumer spending falling for a fifth successive month to its lowest level since February 2021 owing to worries about jobs.

From Barron's

It includes a plan to sell debt that city residents owe for things like unpaid traffic tickets to a private collection company for $89 million.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• incur

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.