Added 7 October 2026
owe
/əʊ/ verb
In Latin: dēbeō Wiktionary
verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about owe at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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To be under an obligation to give something back to someone or to perform some action for someone.
We owe it to our children to make our nation a better place to live in the future.
- To have debt; to be in debt.
-
To have as a cause; used with to.
The record owes its success to the outstanding guitar solos.
Origin
From Middle English owen, from Old English āgan, from Proto-West Germanic *aigan (“to own”), from Proto-Germanic *aiganą, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eh₂óyḱe (“to possess, own”), reduplicated stative of *h₂eyḱ- (“to own”). See also own, ought. Cognate with Sanskrit ईष्टे (īṣṭe, “to own, possess”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)