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due

Pronunciation: /djuː/
Translate due | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
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 instalment was due
  • (of a person) having reached a point where the thing mentioned is required or owed:she was due for a rise
  • (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:driving without due care and attention

noun

  • 1 (one's due/dues) one’s right; what is owed to one:he thought it was his due
  • 2 (dues) an obligatory payment; a fee:he had paid trade 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

  • 1caused by or ascribable to:his death was not due to any lack of care
  • 2because of; owing to:he had to withdraw due to a knee injury

give someone their due

be fair to someone: give the man his due—he’s a vegetarian and he generates his own electricity with wind towers

in due course

at the appropriate time:the range will be extended in due course

pay one's dues

fulfil one’s obligations: if she was the caring person she makes herself out to be she would insist on paying her dues
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'

Due to in the sense ‘because of’, as in he had to retire due to an injury, has been condemned as incorrect on the grounds that due is an adjective and should not be used as a preposition; owing to is often recommended as a better alternative. However, the prepositional use, first recorded at the end of the 19th century, is now common in all types of literature and is regarded as part of standard English.

due in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of due in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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