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pay one's dues

 - 7 dictionary results

due

  [doo, dyoo]
Use pay one's dues in a Sentence
–adjective
1. owed at present; having reached the date for payment: This bill is due.
2. owing or owed, irrespective of whether the time of payment has arrived: This bill is due next month.
3. owing or observed as a moral or natural right.
4. rightful; proper; fitting: due care; in due time.
5. adequate; sufficient: a due margin for delay.
6. under engagement as to time; expected to be ready, be present, or arrive; scheduled: The plane is due at noon.
–noun
7. something that is due, owed, or naturally belongs to someone.
8. Usually, dues. a regular fee or charge payable at specific intervals, esp. to a group or organization: membership dues.
–adverb
9. directly or exactly: a due east course.
10. Obsolete. duly.
—Idioms
11. due to,
a. attributable to; ascribable to: The delay was due to heavy traffic.
b. because of; owing to: All planes are grounded due to fog.
12. give someone his or her due,
a. to give what justice demands; treat fairly: Even though he had once cheated me, I tried to give him his due.
b. to credit a disliked or dishonorable person for something that is likable, honorable, or the like.
13. pay one's dues, to earn respect, a position, or a right by hard work, sacrifice, or experience: She's a famous musician now, but she paid her dues with years of practice and performing in small towns.
Origin:
1275–1325; ME < AF; MF deu, ptp. of devoir < L dēbēre to owe; see debt

Related forms:
dueness, noun

Usage note:
11. Due to as a prepositional phrase meaning “because of, owing to” has been in use since the 14th century: Due to the sudden rainstorm, the picnic was moved indoors. Some object to this use on the grounds that due is historically an adjective and thus should be used only predicatively in constructions like The delay was due to electrical failure. Despite such objections, due to occurs commonly as a compound preposition and is standard in all varieties of speech and writing.

Pronunciation note:
See new.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Slang Dictionary
pay (one's) dues

  1. tv.
    to serve one's time in a menial role. (See also pay (one's) dues (to society).) : I spent some time as a bus boy, so I've paid my dues in the serving business.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

due 
c.1340, from O.Fr. deu, pp. of devoir "to owe," from L. debere "to owe" (see debt). In ref. to points of the compass (e.g. due east) it is attested from 1601, originally nautical, from notion of "fitting, rightful." Dues "fee for membership" is from 1670. "Giue them their due though they were diuels" [1589].
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Financial Dictionary

due

Of or relating to an obligation or receivable that is outstanding and payable.

Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: due
Function: adjective
Etymology: Old French deu, past participle of devoir to owe, from Latin debere
1 a : satisfying or capable of satisfying an obligation, duty, or requirement under the law due performance under the contract> <due proof of loss> b : proper under the law due administration of justice>
2 : capable of being attributed —used with to due to neglect>
3 a : having reached the date at which payment is required : PAYABLE b : owed though not yet required to be paid
4 : REASONABLE 1a, b
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: due
Pronunciation: 'd(y)ü
Function: adjective
: expected to be born in the normal course of events due inNovember>; also : expected to give birth due this month>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Idioms & Phrases

pay one's dues

Earn something through hard work, long experience, or suffering. For example, She'd paid her dues in small-town shows before she finally got a Broadway part. This expression transfers the cost of being a paid-up member in an organization to that of gaining experience in an endeavor. [Mid-1900s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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