verb (used with object)
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)
6.
to be in debt: Neither lend nor owe. Who owes for the antipasto?
00:10
Owe
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is peculate. Does it mean:
| to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle. |
| to spend time idly; loaf. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To owe
Collins
World English Dictionary
owe (əʊ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 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. | ( |
| 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) |
| [Old English āgan to have (C12: to have to); related to Old Saxon ēgan, Old High German eigan] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
owe
O.E. agan (pt. ahte) "to have, own," from P.Gmc. *aiganan "to possess" (cf. O.Fris. aga, O.N. eiga, O.H.G. eigan, Goth. aigan "to possess, have"), from PIE *aik- "to be master of, possess" (cf. Skt. ise "he owns," isah "owner, lord, ruler;" Avestan is- "riches," isvan- "well-off, rich"). Sense of "to
have to repay" began in late O.E. with the phrase agan to geldanne lit. "to own to yield," which was used to translate L. debere (earlier in O.E. this would have been sceal "shall"); by c.1175 the phrase had been shortened to simply agan, and own (v.) took over this word's original sense. An original Gmc. preterite-present verb (cf. can, dare, may, etc.). New past tense form owed arose 15c. to replace oughte, which developed into ought (1).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
But focusing on how much our students owe without balancing it with what our students earn is a potential problem for us.
Companies that owe vast sums may seek bankruptcy protection or go out of business altogether.
We owe it to our students-and the public, in general-to operate as efficiently as possible.
Even in cities that owe their existence to the tobacco industry, however, times are changing.
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