owe

[owe]

People owe things when they're in debt to someone. A friend can owe you a favor, and your employer owes you a paycheck.

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To possess; to have, as the rightful owner; to own.

Verb
be in debt; "She owes me $200"; "The thesis owes much to his adviser"

Verb
be obliged to pay or repay

Verb
be indebted to, in an abstract or intellectual sense; "This new theory owes much to Einstein''s Relativity Theory"

v.
To possess; to have, as the rightful owner; to own.

v.
To have or possess, as something derived or bestowed; to be obliged to ascribe (something to some source); to be indebted or obliged for; as, he owed his wealth to his father; he owed his victory to his lieutenants.

v.
Hence: To have or be under an obigation to restore, pay, or render (something) in return or compensation for something received; to be indebted in the sum of; as, the subject owes allegiance; the fortunate owe assistance to the unfortunate.

v.
To have an obligation to (some one) on account of something done or received; to be indebted to; as, to iwe the grocer for supplies, or a laborer for services.

Owe

Owe , v. t. [imp. & p. p. Owed , (Ought obs.); p. pr. & vb. n. Owing .] [OE. owen, awen,aghen, to have, own, have (to do), hence, owe, AS. 'began to have; akin to G. eigen, a., own, Icel. eiga to have, Dan. eie, Sw. '84ga, Goth. 'a0igan, Skr. . . Cf. Ought, v., 2d Own, Fraught.] 1. To possess; to have, as the rightful owner; to own. [Obs.]

Thou dost here usurp The name thou ow'st not.

2. To have or possess, as something derived or bestowed; to be obliged to ascribe (something to some source); to be indebted or obliged for; as, he owed his wealth to his father; he owed his victoty to his lieutenants. Milton.

O deem thy fall not owed to man's decree.

3. Hence: To have or be under an obigation to restore, pay, or render (something) in return or compensation for something received; to be indebted in the sum of; as, the subject owes allegiance; the fortunate owe assistance to the unfortunate.

The one ought five hundred pence, and the other fifty.

A son owes help and honor to his father.

&hand; Owe was sometimes followed by an objective clause introduced by the infinitive. "Ye owen to incline and bow your heart." Chaucer. 4. To have an obligation to (some one) on account of something done or received; to be indebted to; as, to iwe the grocer for supplies, or a laborer for services.

To possess; to have, as the rightful owner; to own.

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Usage Examples

All I owe the world is my art.

All that I am I owe to Jesus Christ, revealed to me in His divine Book.

Everything I am I owe to my faith and secondly to parents who were old school.

Everything I have, my career, my success, my family, I owe to America.

All Americans and freedom-loving people around the world owe President Reagan our deepest gratitude for his strong, principled leadership that ended the Cold War and brought freedom to millions of people.

Animals are sentient, intelligent, perceptive, funny and entertaining. We owe them a duty of care as we do to children.

Misspelled Form

owe, iowe, 9owe, 0owe, powe, lowe, iwe, 9we, 0we, pwe, lwe, oiwe, o9we, o0we, opwe, olwe, oqwe, o2we, o3we, oewe, oawe, oswe, oqe, o2e, o3e, oee, oae, ose, owqe, ow2e, ow3e, owee, owae, owse, owwe, ow3e, ow4e, owre, owse, owde, oww, ow3, ow4, owr, ows, owd, owew, owe3, owe4, ower, owes, owed.

Other Usage Examples

Because wherever I am today, I still owe it to God and I owe it to two men - the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X and of course, two very special women, my mother and my wife.

America's fighting men and women sacrifice much to ensure that our great nation stays free. We owe a debt of gratitude to the soldiers that have paid the ultimate price for this cause, as well as for those who are blessed enough to return from the battlefield unscathed.

Existence is a strange bargain. Life owes us little we owe it everything. The only true happiness comes from squandering ourselves for a purpose.

All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.

Children themselves know they are being cheated. Ultimately we owe it to our children. They are in school for 190 days a year. Every moment they spend learning is precious. If a year goes by and they are not being stretched and excited, that blights their life.

Bill Hanna and I owe an awful lot to television, but we both got our start and built the first phase of our partnership in the movies.