What's the difference between owe and own?

Owe


Definition:

  • (v.) To possess; to have, as the rightful owner; to own.
  • (v.) To have or possess, as something derived or bestowed; to be obliged to ascribe (something to some source); to be indebted or obliged for; as, he owed his wealth to his father; he owed his victory to his lieutenants.
  • (v.) Hence: To have or be under an obigation to restore, pay, or render (something) in return or compensation for something received; to be indebted in the sum of; as, the subject owes allegiance; the fortunate owe assistance to the unfortunate.
  • (v.) To have an obligation to (some one) on account of something done or received; to be indebted to; as, to iwe the grocer for supplies, or a laborer for services.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Previous attempts to purify this enzyme from the liquid endosperm of kernels of Zea mays (sweet corn) were not entirely successful owing to the lability of partially purified preparations during column chromatography.
  • (2) Video games specialist Game was teetering on the brink of collapse on Friday after a rescue deal put forward by private equity firm OpCapita appeared to have been given the cold shoulder by lenders who are owed more than £100m.
  • (3) The detection of these antibodies is difficult owing to the lack of standardization and of specificity of the laboratory tests.
  • (4) In contrast with oligodendrocytes, [Cl-]i in astrocytes is significantly increased (from 20 to 40 mM) above the equilibrium distribution owing to the activity of an inward directed Cl- pump; this suggests a different mechanism of K+ uptake in these cells.
  • (5) Mild, significant improvement was noted in one of the hearing components, "attenuation," and an adverse effect was shown on "distortion," owing to noise.
  • (6) This suggested that some of the cell population became metabolically inactive at a very early stage, possibly owing to suboptimal conditions of growth.Glycine, lysozyme and lithium chloride initiated lysis of BCG growth in the aforementioned media 24-48 hours after inoculation.
  • (7) It was considered worthwhile to report this case due to the problems which arose concerning the choice of a thoracic rather than abdominal route owing to the impossibility of associating cardiomyotomy with anti-reflux plastica surgery because of the reduced dimensions of the stomach.
  • (8) General anaesthesia with apneic oxygenation may offer the ENT surgeon increased possibilities of exploration and operation at the level of the larynx and trachea, but owing to its biological consequences, it should be used only with circumspection and its indications should be totally justified, for acts of limited duration.
  • (9) These results suggest that 5-FU sensitivity of cervical adenocarcinoma cell line (OMC-4) is lower than that of cervical squamous carcinoma cell line (OMC-1) and it may owe much not to the TS inhibition rate but to the intracellular FdUMP.
  • (10) Random testing has been less accepted owing to its higher costs, unresolved legal issues, and predictably poor test reliability.
  • (11) "But it is necessary to collect tax that is owed and it is necessary to reduce tax avoidance and the crown dependencies and the overseas territories need to play their part in that drive and they need to do more."
  • (12) Diagnostic problems were encountered in differentiating among multicystic dysplastic kidneys and ureteropelvic junction obstruction, dilatation owing to reflux or obstruction and lack of visualization of small hypoplastic kidneys.
  • (13) And we owe [Hickox] better than that and all the people who do this work better than that.” The White House indicated that it was urgently reviewing the federal guidelines for returning healthcare workers, “recognising that these medical professionals’ selfless efforts to fight this disease on the front lines will be critical to bringing this epidemic under control, the only way to eliminate the risk of additional cases here at home”.
  • (14) A bit like the old Lib Dems, perhaps: and indeed the Greens owe a big chunk of their surge to the exodus of voters from Clegg’s discredited rump.
  • (15) Owing to its broad spectrum of action (covering both gram-positive and gram-negative microorganisms and anaerobes) and its consistently strong molar action, mezlocillin is well suited as a beta-lactam combination component for intensive care patients.
  • (16) This resulted in a false-positive recall incidence greater than 92% owing to various additional factors which also influence T4 levels: thyroxine-binding-globulin deficiency, prematurity, and maternal drug ingestion.
  • (17) It is because of those brave people that we owe our lives to them.
  • (18) Two years later, the Guardian could point to reforms that owed much to what Ashley called his "bloody-mindedness" in five areas: non-disclosure of victims' names in rape cases; the rights of battered wives; the ending of fuel disconnections for elderly people; a royal commission on the legal profession; and civil liability for damages such as those due to thalidomide victims.
  • (19) The similarities in methods of intervention found in the work of investigators of very different theoretical persuasion raise the possibility that most treatment methods owe more to empirical clinical experience than to their presumed derivation from a theoretical model.
  • (20) "If there is some kind of contrived scheme or vehicle, ie it's obvious that the purpose of the scheme is to avoid paying VAT and it's taking advantage of a loophole and we consider that tax is actually owed on the scheme, rather than just being a case of sensible tax planning … we can make the judgment that this is not legitimate tax planning.

Own


Definition:

  • (v. t.) To grant; to acknowledge; to admit to be true; to confess; to recognize in a particular character; as, we own that we have forfeited your love.
  • (a.) Belonging to; belonging exclusively or especially to; peculiar; -- most frequently following a possessive pronoun, as my, our, thy, your, his, her, its, their, in order to emphasize or intensify the idea of property, peculiar interest, or exclusive ownership; as, my own father; my own composition; my own idea; at my own price.
  • (a.) To hold as property; to have a legal or rightful title to; to be the proprietor or possessor of; to possess; as, to own a house.

Example Sentences:

Words possibly related to "owe"