owes; owed; owing
owes; owed; owing
Learner's definition of OWE
1
: to need to pay or repay money to a person, bank, business, etc.欠（债）；欠（账） [+ object]
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I still owe money on the car. [=I have not yet paid back all the money I borrowed to buy the car]我还没还清买车的借款。
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We owe no income tax.我们不欠所得税。
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He owes me $5.他欠我5美元。
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Don't I owe money to you? = Don't I owe you money?我不欠你钱吧？
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I owe the bank a lot of money.我欠银行很多钱。
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Additional payments are owed on the mortgage.按揭贷款要交一些额外的费用。
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How much is owed? = What is the amount owed?欠多少款？
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How much do I owe (you) for this?我买这个要付（你）多少钱？
[no object]
2 [+ object]
a : to need to do or give something to someone who has done something for you or given something to you欠（人情）；应该感激 -
I owe you a drink/favor.我该请你喝一杯/欠你一个人情。
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I owe you my thanks.我很感谢你。
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(informal) What do you mean you won't help? You owe me!你说不帮我是什么意思？你欠我的！
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She still owes me for all the times I've helped her out.对于我每次为让她走出困境而给予的帮助，她仍心怀感激。
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Thanks for your help. I owe you one. [=I will give you help when you need it]谢谢你的帮助，我欠你个人情！
b —
used to say that something should be done for or given to someone应该做；应给予 -
You owe me an explanation.你应该给我一个解释。
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I owe you an apology.我应该向你道歉。
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The senator is owed a degree of respect. [=the senator deserves some respect]那位参议员值得尊敬。
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We owe it to the veterans to build a memorial. [=we should build a memorial to honor and thank the veterans]我们应该为老兵们建一座纪念碑。
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You owe it to yourself to have fun. [=you deserve to let yourself have fun]你该让自己开心地玩一下了。
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He owes it to himself to travel while he still can.他该趁自己身体还行的时候去旅行一下。
3
[+ object] —
used to indicate the person or thing that made something possible归功于；归因于 —
often + to -
I owe my success to my teachers. [=my teachers deserve credit for my success]我的成功归功于我的恩师们。
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She owes her success to hard work. [=she has succeeded because of hard work]她的成功靠的是勤奋工作。
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He owes his wealth to his father.他的富有归功于他的父亲。
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He owes his fame to several movies. [=he is famous because he was in several movies]他这么有名归功于几部电影。
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His success owes more to luck than skill. [=is more because of luck than skill]他的成功更多的是依靠运气而不是技能。
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I owe my life to the surgeon's skill. [=the surgeon's skill saved my life]外科医生的医术挽救了我的生命。
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We owe our understanding of gravity to Newton.全靠牛顿我们才理解了重力。
owe a debt of gratitude/thanks to someone
— see debt