owe
owe Lexical Profile
owe Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To be under an obligation to pay or repay money, goods, or services to someone in return for something received.
"She still owes the bank several thousand dollars on her student loan."
To be under a moral or social obligation to give or offer someone something, such as gratitude, loyalty, or an explanation.
"I think you owe your colleague a sincere apology for forgetting the meeting."
To have or possess something as a result of a particular person, action, or circumstance.
"The young violinist owes much of her early success to the dedication of her first music teacher."
• Rhymes for owe
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'āgan', meaning 'to possess, own, or have'. Over the Middle English period, the meaning shifted from having something in one's possession to having another's property that must be repaid, sharing the same Germanic root as the words 'own' and 'ought'.