Dictionary
Find
in
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Translations

Click to move up the list of words
owl’s claws
owl’s clover
owlet
owlet moth
owlish
own
own brand
own up
owner
owner-occupied
owner-occupier
owner-operator
ownership
OWTTE
ox
ox-
ox-eyed
Click to move down the list of words
Print Preview
See pronunciation key
Search for "owe" in all of MSN Encarta
E-mail this entry
Blog about this entry on MSN Spaces
Download the MSN Encarta Right-Click Dictionary

owe

owe [ ō ] (past and past participle owed, present participle ow·ing, 3rd person present singular owes)


verb 
Definition:
 
1. transitive verb be obligated to pay back money: to be under an obligation to pay or repay somebody an amount of money

2. transitive and intransitive verb be financially in debt: to be financially in debt to somebody or for something

3. transitive verb be indebted for something: to have something, usually some desirable thing, only because of something or somebody else
owed his success to her

4. transitive verb feel that response is due somebody: to feel that something should be given to or done for somebody in recompense for something
I owe myself a night out.
I owe you an explanation.

5. transitive verb bear grudge toward somebody: to feel a particular emotion, especially a grudge, toward somebody

[ Old English āgan< Indo-European, "to own"]
Advertisement

Also on Encarta
Englishtown: Learn English online
Our Partners
Also on MSN
Encarta Message Boards (© Rubberball/Jupiterimages)
MSN Shopping
Encarta RSS Feeds
© 2008 Microsoft