ought
English
Etymology 1
From Middle English oughte, aughte, aȝte, ahte, from Old English āhte, first and third person singular past tense of Old English āgan (“to own, possess”), equivalent to owe + -t.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ɔːt/
- Rhymes: -ɔːt
- (US) IPA(key): /ɔt/
- (cot–caught merger) IPA(key): /ɑt/
Audio (US) (file) - Homophones: aught
Verb
ought
- (obsolete) simple past tense of owe
- 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Luke VII:
- There was a certayne lender, which had two detters, the one ought five hondred pence, and the other fifty.
- 1603, John Florio, transl.; Michel de Montaigne, The Essayes, […], printed at London: By Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], OCLC 946730821:, Folio Society, 2006, vol.1, p.182:
- witnesse Aristippus, who being urged with the affection he ought his children, as proceeding from his loynes, began to spit […].
- 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Luke VII:
Verb
ought
- (auxiliary) Indicating duty or obligation.
- I ought to vote in the coming election.
- (auxiliary) Indicating advisability or prudence.
- You ought to stand back from the edge of the platform.
- (auxiliary) Indicating desirability.
- He ought to read the book; it was very good.
- (auxiliary) Indicating likelihood or probability.
- 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 3, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
- My hopes wa'n't disappointed. I never saw clams thicker than they was along them inshore flats. I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out. Clams was fairly scarce over that side of the bay and ought to fetch a fair price.
- We ought to arrive by noon if we take the motorway.
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Usage notes
- Ought is an auxiliary verb; it takes a following verb as its complement. This verb may appear either as a full infinitive (such as “to go”) or a bare infinitive (such as simple “go”), depending on region and speaker; the same range of meanings is possible in either case. Additionally, it's possible for ought not to take any complement, in which case a verb complement is implied, as in, “You really ought to [do so].”
- The negative of ought is either ought not (to) or oughtn't (to)
Synonyms
- should (In all senses)
See also
- ought to
- Appendix:English modal verbs
- Appendix:English tag questions
Translations
indicating duty or obligation
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indicating advisability or prudence
indicating desirability
indicating likelihood or probability
Pronoun
ought
Noun
ought (plural oughts)
- A statement of what ought to be the case as contrasted with what is the case.
References
Etymology 2
Noun
ought (plural oughts)
Middle English
Alternative forms
- ouȝt, eawiht, aht
Etymology
From Old English āht.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɔuxt(ə)/
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