| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| owe |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |   |
| VERB: | Inflected forms: owed, ow·ing, owes
| | TRANSITIVE VERB: | 1. To be indebted to the amount of: He owes me five dollars. 2. To have a moral obligation to render or offer: I owe them an apology. 3. To be in debt to: We owe the plumber for services rendered. 4. To be indebted or obliged for: owed their riches to oil; owes her good health to diet and exercise. 5. To bear (a certain feeling) toward a person or persons: You seem to owe your neighbors a grudge. 6. Archaic To have as a possession; own. | | INTRANSITIVE VERB: | To be in debt: She still owes for the car. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English owen, from Old English  gan, to possess. See aik- in Appendix I.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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