owe
verb
\ ˈō
\
\
owed;
owing
Definition of owe
1a(1)
: to be under obligation to pay or repay in return for something received : be indebted in the sum of
owes me $5
(2)
: to be under obligation to render (something, such as duty or service)
I owe you a favor. A lawyer owes her client legal advice.
b
: to be indebted to
owes the grocer for supplies
2
: to be indebted for
owed his wealth to his father owes much to good luck
1
: to be in debt
owes for his house
2
: to be attributable
an idea that owes to Greek philosophy
owe it
: to have a responsibility to do something to satisfy an obligation or duty
owes it to voters to explain his reasons I owed it to her to give her this opportunity— Colin MacIness
Examples of owe in a Sentence
We owe no income tax.
I owe the bank a lot of money.
Additional payments are owed on the mortgage.
I still owe on the car.
I owe you a drink.
I owe you my thanks.
She still owes me for all the times I've helped her out.
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Recent Examples on the Web
Car production has taken the biggest hit, falling by 17% over the past year, owing in part to slowing demand from big trading partners, such as China and Britain, and a shift in consumer tastes away from German diesel motors. — The Economist, "Fears of a German recession are rising," 29 Aug. 2019 If Carroll County moved forward in U.S. District Court and lost, Burke said the board would likely owe approximately $255,000 to the American Humanist Association for attorney fees. — Mary Grace Keller, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, "Carroll commissioners settle lawsuit over prayer in meetings, despite citizens’ urging to keep fighting," 29 Aug. 2019 For example: If the unit cost, say, $10 million to design, permit and build, and the land that Tri-City contributes were appraised at $1 million, the hospital would end up owing the county $4 million. — Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Tri-City to consider approving psych unit deal in special meeting tonight," 29 Aug. 2019 The bank put up about $5 million in financing for the flick, was owed money and thus held a security interest. — Eriq Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Polaroid': A Near Deal With Netflix Becomes a Legal Horror," 29 Aug. 2019 The county has no record of release from the lien, an indication the money may still be owed. — Nick Ibarra, The Mercury News, "Argument over financial issues a factor in Santa Cruz County stabbing death, prosecutor says," 29 Aug. 2019 Reuters/Jessica Rinaldi Each person has $1 million and owes $2 million. — Charles Eisenstein, Quartz, "How a game of musical chairs can help explain our broken economy," 27 Aug. 2019 Meloche wrote in subsequent statements that the district is required to send two letters to parents if their child owes lunch money. — NBC News, "N.J. school district considers not serving lunch to students who owe more than $20," 27 Aug. 2019 An alleged marijuana trafficker in southern Oregon is charged with trying to hire a hitman to kill an associate who owed him about $75,000 in a drug debt, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Monday. — oregonlive.com, "Alleged marijuana trafficker in southern Oregon accused in murder-for-hire scheme," 26 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'owe.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for owe
owe
verb
English Language Learners Definition of owe
: to need to pay or repay money to a person, bank, business, etc.
: to need to do or give something to someone who has done something for you or given something to you
—used to say that something should be done for or given to someone
See the full definition for owe in the English Language Learners Dictionary
owe
verb
\ ˈō
\
\
owed;
owing
Kids Definition of owe
1
: to be obligated to pay, give, or return
I still owe 100 dollars. I don't owe any favors to anyone.
2
: to be in debt to
You owe me money.
3
: to have as a result
I owe my success to hard work.
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