Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb owe

3 senses of owe

Sense 1
owe -- (be obliged to pay or repay)

Sense 2
owe -- (be indebted to, in an abstract or intellectual sense; "This new theory owes much to Einstein's Relativity Theory")
       => repose on, rest on, build on, build upon -- (be based on; of theories and claims, for example; "What's this new evidence based on?")

Sense 3
owe -- (be in debt; "She owes me $200"; "I still owe for the car"; "The thesis owes much to his adviser")
       => be -- (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun); "John is rich"; "This is not a good answer")