owe

verb

1. 欠（债）；欠（账）
   to have to pay sb for sth that you have already received or return money that you have borrowed
   1. She still owes her father £3 000.
      她还欠她父亲3 000英镑。
   2. She still owes £3 000 to her father.
      她还欠她父亲3 000英镑。
   3. The country owes billions of dollars to foreign creditors.
      这个国家欠外国债权人数十亿元。
   4. How much do I owe you for the groceries?
      买这些杂货我得给你多少钱？
   5. I'm still owed three days' leave.
      还欠我三天假呢。
2. 欠（情）
   to feel that you ought to do sth for sb or give them sth, especially because they have done sth for you
   1. I owe a debt of gratitude to all my family.
      我很感激我的全家人。
   2. You owe it to your staff to be honest with them.
      与下属坦诚相待，这是你对他们应有的态度。
   3. You owe me a favour!
      你还欠我个人情哪！
   4. Thanks for sticking up for me─I owe you one (= I owe you a favour) .
      谢谢你支持我——我欠你一个情。
   5. I think you owe us an explanation.
      我认为你应当给我们一个解释。
   6. I think we're owed an apology.
      我认为得有人向我们道歉。
3. 归因于；归功于；起源于
   to exist or be successful because of the help or influence of sb/sth
   1. He owes his success to hard work.
      他的成功是靠勤奋工作。
   2. The play owes much to French tragedy.
      这部戏颇受法国悲剧的影响。
   3. I owe everything to him.
      我的一切都归功于他。
   4. I owe him everything.
      我的一切都归功于他。
   5. I knew that I owed the surgeon my life.
      我明白外科医生救了我的命。
4. （对位高权重者）忠诚，服从
   to have to obey or be loyal to sb who is in a position of authority or power

1. VERB 欠（钱）；欠（债）；欠（账）
   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 .
   1. The company owes money to more than 60 banks...
      这家公司欠下60多家银行的债。
   2. Blake already owed him nearly £50...
      布莱克已经欠他将近50英镑了。
   3. I'm broke, Livy, and I owe a couple of million dollars...
      我破产了，莉薇，而且我欠了几百万美元的债。
   4. He could take what was owing for the rent.
      他可以把自己欠的钱抵作对方的租金。
2. VERB 应把…归因（于）；应把…归功（于）
   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.
   1. I always suspected she owed her first job to her friendship with Roger...
      我一直怀疑她仗着自己是罗杰的朋友才得到第一份工作。
   2. He owed his survival to his strength as a swimmer...
      他是因为水性好才幸免于难的。
   3. The fruit owes its extraordinary aroma to a mixture of three main chemicals...
      这种水果独特的芳香来自于3种主要化学物质的混合。
   4. The city essentially owes its fame and beauty to the Moors who transformed it into the Muslim capital of Spain...
      该城的声名与美丽基本上要归功于将它变成西班牙穆斯林之都的摩尔人。
   5. I owe him my life.
      我能活下来全亏了他。
3. VERB 欠（情）；感激
   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.
   1. As a professional composer I owe much to Radio 3...
      作为一名职业作曲家，我十分感激第三电台。
   2. He's been fantastic. I owe him a lot.
      他真是个大好人，我欠他太多了。
4. VERB 应归因；应归功
   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.
   1. The island's present economy owes a good deal to whisky distilling...
      该岛当前的经济发展主要归功于蒸馏法酿造威士忌酒行业。
   2. Mrs Allen's style of cooking owes much to her mother-in-law.
      艾伦太太的烹饪风格很大程度上承传于她的婆婆。
5. VERB 应该给予（某人感激、尊重、忠诚等）
   If you say that you owe someone gratitude, respect, or loyalty, you mean that they deserve it from you.
   1. Perhaps we owe these people more respect...
      也许我们应该给予这些人更多的尊重。
   2. I owe you an apology. You must have found my attitude very annoying...
      我应该向你道歉。你一定觉得我的态度很恶劣吧。
   3. I owe a big debt of gratitude to her.
      我对她万分感激。
6. VERB 应该为（某人做）；有必要为（某人做）
   If you say that you owe it to someone to do something, you mean that you should do that thing because they deserve it.
   1. I can't go. I owe it to him to stay...
      我不能走。看在他的分上我也该留下来。
   2. You owe it to yourself to get some professional help...
      你应该为了自己寻求专业人士的帮助。
   3. Of course she would have to send a letter; she owed it to the family.
      她当然必须寄封信回去，跟家里联系是应该的。
7. PREP-PHRASE 由于；因为
   You use owing to when you are introducing the reason for something.
   1. He was out of work owing to a physical injury...
      他因为受伤而失业了。
   2. Owing to staff shortages, there was no restaurant car on the train.
      由于缺人手，这趟火车上没有餐车。
8. the world owes someone a living → see: world

1. Rest assured, if you owe taxes, we will collect them.
   不用多想，如果你欠税，我们会去收的。
2. You owe a certain person a sum of money
   你欠某人一笔钱。
3. He was so good to me that I can never repay the debt I owe him
   他对我太好了，我永远也还不清这份人情。
4. I owe a debt of thanks to Joyce Thompson, whose careful and able research was of great help
   我要衷心地感谢乔伊斯·汤普森先生，他严谨而卓著的研究给予了我极大的帮助。
5. You don't owe me. I don't owe you. We're even.
   你不欠我，我也不欠你，我们扯平了。
6. I overspent by £ 1 on your shopping so I'm afraid you owe me
   我为你买的东西多付了1英镑，所以呢，恐怕你欠我的。
7. I'm broke, Livy, and I owe a couple of million dollars
   我破产了，莉薇，而且我欠了几百万美元的债。
8. I always suspected she owed her first job to her friendship with Roger
   我一直怀疑她仗着自己是罗杰的朋友才得到第一份工作。
9. He owed his survival to his strength as a swimmer
   他是因为水性好才幸免于难的。
10. The fruit owes its extraordinary aroma to a mixture of three main chemicals
    这种水果独特的芳香来自于3种主要化学物质的混合。
11. The city essentially owes its fame and beauty to the Moors who transformed it into the Muslim capital of Spain
    该城的声名与美丽基本上要归功于将它变成西班牙穆斯林之都的摩尔人。
12. I owe him my life.
    我能活下来全亏了他。
13. As a professional composer I owe much to Radio 3
    作为一名职业作曲家，我十分感激第三电台。
14. The island's present economy owes a good deal to whisky distilling
    该岛当前的经济发展主要归功于蒸馏法酿造威士忌酒行业。
15. Mrs Allen's style of cooking owes much to her mother-in-law.
    艾伦太太的烹饪风格很大程度上承传于她的婆婆。
16. Perhaps we owe these people more respect
    也许我们应该给予这些人更多的尊重。
17. I owe you an apology. You must have found my attitude very annoying
    我应该向你道歉。你一定觉得我的态度很恶劣吧。
18. I owe a big debt of gratitude to her.
    我对她万分感激。
19. I can't go. I owe it to him to stay
    我不能走。看在他的分上我也该留下来。
20. You owe it to yourself to get some professional help
    你应该为了自己寻求专业人士的帮助。
21. Of course she would have to send a letter; she owed it to the family.
    她当然必须寄封信回去，跟家里联系是应该的。
22. He was out of work owing to a physical injury
    他因为受伤而失业了。
23. Owing to staff shortages, there was no restaurant car on the train.
    由于缺人手，这趟火车上没有餐车。
24. I owe them a debt that cannot easily be repaid.
    我欠他们一笔钱，不容易偿还。
25. The proposal is to pay everything you owe, so that you can start with a clean slate.
    建议你还清所有的债务，这样你就能够重新开始了。
26. You owe me four pounds, but I have your watch, so we'll cry quits.
    你欠我4镑，我得了你的表，那么我们就两相抵消吧。
27. If I have improved in any way, I owe it all to you.
    如果说我有一些进步，这全归功于你。
28. I owe you a debt of gratitude which I shall never be able to repay.
    我永远报答不尽你的恩情。
29. I owe him nothing.
    我不欠他什么。
30. I don't owe him by way of gratitude.
    我不该他的情。

verb

1. be in debt
   1. She owes me $200
   2. I still owe for the car
   3. The thesis owes much to his adviser

2. be obliged to pay or repay

3. be indebted to, in an abstract or intellectual sense
   1. This new theory owes much to Einstein's Relativity Theory