transcription, транскрипция: [ oʊ ]
( owes, owing, owed)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
If you owe money to someone, they have lent it to you and you have not yet paid it back. You can also say that the money is owing .
The company owes money to more than 60 banks...
Blake already owed him nearly £50...
I’m broke, Livy, and I owe a couple of million dollars...
He could take what was owing for the rent.
VERB : V n to n , V n n , V n , V
2.
If someone or something owes a particular quality or their success to a person or thing, they only have it because of that person or thing.
He owed his survival to his strength as a swimmer...
I owe him my life.
VERB : no passive , V n to n , V n n
3.
If you say that you owe a great deal to someone or something, you mean that they have helped you or influenced you a lot, and you feel very grateful to them.
As a professional composer I owe much to Radio 3...
He’s been fantastic. I owe him a lot.
VERB : V amount to n , V n amount
4.
If you say that something owes a great deal to a person or thing, you mean that it exists, is successful, or has its particular form mainly because of them.
The island’s present economy owes a good deal to whisky distilling...
VERB : V amount to n
5.
If you say that you owe someone gratitude, respect, or loyalty, you mean that they deserve it from you. ( FORMAL )
Perhaps we owe these people more respect...
I owe you an apology. You must have found my attitude very annoying...
I owe a big debt of gratitude to her.
VERB : V n n , V n n , V n to n
6.
If you say that you owe it to someone to do something, you mean that you should do that thing because they deserve it.
I can’t go. I owe it to him to stay...
You owe it to yourself to get some professional help...
Of course she would have to send a letter; she owed it to the family.
VERB : no passive , V it to n to-inf , V it to pron-refl to-inf , V it to n
7.
You use owing to when you are introducing the reason for something.
Owing to staff shortages, there was no restaurant car on the train.
PREP-PHRASE : PREP n