OWE, verb transitive o. [Gr., Eng. own.] 1. To be indebted; to be obliged or bound to pay. The merchants owe a large sum to foreigners. A son owes help and honor to his father. One was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. Matthew 18:24. OWE no man any thing, but to love one another. Romans 13:8. 2. To be obliged to ascribe to; to be obliged for; as, that he may owe to me all his deliverance. 3. To possess; to have; to be the owner of. [This is the original sense, but now obsolete. In place of it, we use own, from the participle. See Own.] Thou dost here usurp the name thou owest not. 4. To be due or owing. O deem thy fall not ow'd to man's decree. [This passive form is not now used.] OWE, verb intransitive To be bound or obliged.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI