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# owe

verb (owe, owes, owed, owing)

«owe» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. To have to pay back money that someone lent you. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/owe/#m1)
2. To have to give or do something for someone because of what they did: «I owe you a favour». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/owe/#m2)
3. To have something because of someone: «I owe my success to my coach». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/owe/#m3)

### In the lessons

In maths and money lessons, owing means a debt: if you borrowed $5 and paid back $3, you still owe $2 (subtract). In manners, «I owe you one» means you will help back. Phrases: «owe someone money», «owe someone an apology», «owing to» (because of).

### Examples

- I owe my brother two dollars. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/owe/#x1)
- You owe me an apology. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/owe/#x2)
- Thanks for helping — I owe you one! [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/owe/#x3)
- He borrowed $10 and paid back $6, so he owes $4. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/owe/#x4)
- We owe our safety to the lifeguard. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/owe/#x5)
- The match was cancelled owing to rain. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/owe/#x6)
- “But I owe money to several people.” [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/owe/#x7)

### Note

Past: owed. Pronounced like «oh». «Owing to» = because of. Maths: amount owed = amount borrowed − amount paid back.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «owe» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/owe/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«owe» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/owe.html) on Mova free.