Owe (Verb)
Meaning 1
Be indebted to, in an abstract or intellectual sense; "This new theory owes much to Einstein's Relativity Theory".
Classification
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations.
Examples
- Western philosophy owes a great debt to the ideas of ancient Greeks such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
- The success of the novel can be attributed to its authors, as its original storyline owes much to their collaboration.
- His groundbreaking discoveries in physics owe a considerable amount to the foundation laid by Newton and Galileo.
- Their innovative marketing strategy owes its development to their research on customer behavior and market trends.
- This theoretical model of economics owes its concept to the works of Adam Smith and David Ricardo.
Hypernyms
Meaning 2
Be in debt; "She owes me $200"; "I still owe for the car"; "The thesis owes much to his adviser".
Classification
Verbs of buying, selling, owning.
Examples
- She owes me $200 for the loan I gave her last month.
- I still owe for the car and need to make another payment next week.
- The thesis owes much to his adviser for the invaluable guidance provided throughout his research.
- The company owes its success to the innovative ideas of its employees.
- He owes his life to the medical team who saved him from the accident.
Meaning 3
Be obliged to pay or repay.
Classification
Verbs of buying, selling, owning.
Examples
- I owe the bank $10,000 on my home loan.
- She owes her parents $20,000 for her education expenses.
- We owe our success to the guidance of our mentors.
- He owes a significant amount of money to various creditors.
- They owe the previous owner of the house $50,000 for the down payment.