Owe

How to spell owe

3 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce owe

What does owe mean?

1. verbTo be under obligation to pay or repay money or goods to someone.
2. verbTo feel a duty to give someone thanks, credit, or help because of what they have done.

Owe in a sentence

• He knows he still owe the waiter a tip.

• We owe our success to years of careful planning.

• They owe the bank a large sum on the mortgage.

• She feels she owe her mentor a great deal of gratitude.

Where does owe come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Owe descends from the Old English verb āgan, which meant 'to possess' or 'to own', the same root that gave us the modern word 'own'. In its earliest use it described having something, but a related sense was 'to have something belonging to another', that is, to be under obligation to give it back. Over the Middle English period that obligation sense narrowed into the modern meaning of being in debt or being bound to repay. The spelling gained its silent 'w' as English settled the look of words ending in this long 'oh' sound, which is exactly the trap: the word sounds like 'oh' but carries a final 'we' on paper. Its old cousin 'ought' began life as the past tense of the very same verb, which is why both still carry the flavour of duty and obligation.

How the word is built

• owe (from Old English āgan: to possess, to have to give back)

Words that sound like owe

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• oh: An exclamation expressing a sudden reaction such as surprise, understanding, disappointment, or pain.