to owe

Definition of to owe in English English dictionary: shall; {v} to be in debt, be obliged, pay to, own; be obliged to pay or repay; to need to give for something -- " give the salesperson more money than you owe " (216); be indebted to, in an abstract or intellectual sense; "This new theory owes much to Einstein's Relativity Theory"; To possess; to have, as the rightful owner; to own; If you owe money to someone, they have lent it to you and you have not yet paid it back. You can also say that the money is owing. The company owes money to more than 60 banks Blake already owed him nearly £50 I'm broke, Livy, and I owe a couple of million dollars He could take what was owing for the rent; To have debt, to be in debt; If you say that you owe it to someone to do something, you mean that you should do that thing because they deserve it. I can't go. I owe it to him to stay You owe it to yourself to get some professional help Of course she would have to send a letter; she owed it to the family; 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; be in debt; "She owes me $200"; "The thesis owes much to his adviser" be obliged to pay or repay be indebted to, in an abstract or intellectual sense; "This new theory owes much to Einstein's Relativity Theory; Office for Workforce Excellence; be obliged to pay or repay be indebted to, in an abstract or intellectual sense; "This new theory owes much to Einstein's Relativity Theory; 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; 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; To be under an obligation to give something back to someone or to perform some action for someone; If you say that something owes a great deal to a person or thing, you mean that it exists, is successful, or has its particular form mainly because of them. The island's present economy owes a good deal to whisky distilling; If you say that you owe a great deal to someone or something, you mean that they have helped you or influenced you a lot, and you feel very grateful to them. As a professional composer I owe much to Radio 3 He's been fantastic. I owe him a lot; If you say that you owe someone gratitude, respect, or loyalty, you mean that they deserve it from you. Perhaps we owe these people more respect I owe you an apology. You must have found my attitude very annoying I owe a big debt of gratitude to her; be in debt; "She owes me $200"; "The thesis owes much to his adviser"; to have an obligation to pay or repay money; If someone or something owes a particular quality or their success to a person or thing, they only have it because of that person or thing. He owed his survival to his strength as a swimmer I owe him my life; You use owing to when you are introducing the reason for something. Owing to staff shortages, there was no restaurant car on the train; {f} be indebted to; be under obligation to pay or repay; feel that a certain thing is deserved; have an emotion or attitude toward someone or something