Owed

Owed is the past tense and past participle of the verb owe. In general, owe describes an obligation to give, repay, or perform something for another person or entity. The thing owed can be money, goods, services, or even an apology or duty. Owe is transitive; its object is the thing owed, and the recipient is typically expressed with the preposition to (as in "I owe you money").

Usage examples include both financial and nonfinancial obligations. "I owe you $20" expresses a debt to someone. "Patrons owe the library fines for overdue books," and "The company owes its creditors a debt." The passive form, "The money is owed to you by me," emphasizes the obligation. Owe also covers moral or legal duties, as in "We owe thanks to our contributors" or "You are owed an explanation."

As an adjective, owed appears in phrases such as "amount owed" or "balance owed," especially in accounting contexts. Related terms include arrears, which describe payments that are overdue, and debt, which denotes an obligation to repay. Owed can also connect to attribution in phrases like "we owe our success to our team," where the sense shifts from a financial obligation to a form of credit.

Etymology note: The word owes its roots in Old English and has cognates in other Germanic languages; the broader sense of obligation is ancient and widespread across languages. See also debt, debtor, creditor, liability, accounts payable.