owe it to

idiom

: to have a duty to (someone to do something)
We owe it to the veterans to build a memorial.

Examples of owe it to in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
But once they have been elected, federal, state and local officials owe it to kids, their parents and their neighbors to fight this most invisible of all hazards. Maggie Fox, Scientific American, 3 Sep. 2024 Presidential historian Tim Naftali suggested on CNN that Biden’s close advisers and family owe it to the country to talk him into taking a tough decision to consider stepping aside. Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 29 June 2024 But leaders in Caracas and Washington owe it to Venezuelans to try. Francisco Rodríguez, Foreign Affairs, 1 Dec. 2023 Instead of calling in police and security forces to suppress protest, university leaders owe it to students to engage with them. Eddie R. Cole / Made By History, TIME, 4 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for owe it to 

Cite this Entry

“Owe it to.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/owe%20it%20to. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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