owe

UK: /ˈəʊ/ US: /oʊ/ ,(ō)

Inflections of 'owe' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

owes

v 3rd person singular

owing

v pres p

owed

v past

owed

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

owe /oʊ/   v., owed, ow•ing. [not: be + ~-ing]

1. • to be obligated to pay, repay, or give (something): [~ + object]
     They still owe a hundred thousand dollars on their house.
     [~ + object + object]
     I owe him a dollar.
     [no object]
     Do you still owe on that boat?
   • [~ + object] to be in debt to:
     I still owe my brother for the money I borrowed.
2. to be thankful and grateful to someone or something for making (something) possible:
   [~ + object + to + object] owed his success to his wife.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

owe  (ō), v., owed, ow•ing. 
v.t. 

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. [Obs.] to possess;
   own.

v.i. 

6. to be in debt:
   Neither lend nor owe. Who owes for the antipasto?

• bef. 900; Middle English owen to possess, be under obligation, have to pay; Old English āgan to possess; cognate with Old High German eigan, Old Norse eiga. See own, ought¹

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

owe / əʊ/ verb (mainly tr)

1. to be under an obligation to pay (someone) to the amount of
2. (intransitive) to be in debt: we still owe for the holiday
3. (often followed by to) to have as a result (of)
4. to feel the need or obligation to do, give, etc
5. to hold or maintain in the mind or heart (esp in the phrase owe a grudge)

Etymology: Old English āgan to have (C12: to have to); related to Old Saxon ēgan, Old High German eigan