due

Syllabification: (due)

Pronunciation: /d(y)o͞o/

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Definition of due

adjective

1 [predic.] expected at or planned for at a certain time:the baby’s due in August he is due back soon [with infinitive]:talks are due to adjourn tomorrow
(of a payment) required at a certain time:the May installment was due
(of a person) having reached a point where the thing mentioned is required or owed:she was due for a raise you’re more than due a vacation
(of a thing) required or owed as a legal or moral obligation:he was only taking back what was due to him you must pay any income tax due

2 [attributive] of the proper quality or extent; adequate:driving without due care and attention

noun

1 (one's due) a person’s right; what is owed to someone:he attracts more criticism than is his due

2 (dues) an obligatory payment; a fee:he had paid union dues for years

adverb

(with reference to a point of the compass) exactly; directly:we’ll head due south again on the same road

Phrases

due to
give someone their due: be fair to someone:to give him his due, he was a generous employer
in due course: at the appropriate time:Reynolds will respond in due course to the letter
pay one's dues: fulfill one’s obligations:he had paid his dues to society for his previous convictions; experience difficulties before achieving success:this drummer has paid his dues with the best

Origin:

Middle English (in the sense 'payable'): from Old French deu 'owed', based on Latin debitus 'owed', from debere 'owe'

The use of due to as a prepositional phrase meaning ‘because of,’ as in he had to retire due to an injury first appeared in print in 1897, and traditional grammarians have opposed this prepositional usage for more than a century on the grounds that it is a misuse of the adjectival phrase due to in the sense of ‘attributable to, likely or expected to’ (the train is due to arrive at 11:15), or ‘payable or owed to’ (render unto Caesar what is due to Caesar). Nevertheless, this prepositional usage is now widespread and common in all types of literature and must be regarded as standard English.The phrase due to the fact that is very common in speech, but it is wordy, and, especially in writing, one should use the simple word ‘because.’.

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Definition of due in the British & World English dictionary

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Other

due

adjective

noun

adverb

Phrases

due to

give someone their due

in due course

pay one's dues

Origin:

due in other Oxford dictionaries

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