due
Pluraldues
- 1Attributable to a particular cause; resulting from a stated reason.
The crop failure was largely due to months without rain.
His recovery was due to the quick action of the paramedics.
UsageDue to + noun names a cause (due to the rain). Be due to + base verb means expected (is due to land).
Similarattributable, owing
Note
James David Forbes wrote in 1856 that the milky aspect might 'be due to a confusion of small stars.'
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Forbes's dissertation was first published in 1856. en.wikipedia.org
- James David Forbes wrote the quoted words about the milky aspect. en.wiktionary.org
- 2Expected or scheduled to happen, arrive or be ready at a certain time, or having reached the point when something is expected, as in 'due for a win'.
The quarterly report is due on the manager's desk by Friday.
Their flight was due to land just as the storm hit.
UsageDue on or by a date; with a verb, be due to: the flight is due to land at six.
- 3Owed as a debt or obligation; needing to be paid or given.
The final installment becomes due once the work is finished.
The landlord reminded us that two months' rent was still due, along with a late fee.
UsageOften after its noun: the amount due. The person owed can follow directly without to: the amount due him.
Oppositepaid
- 4Proper, suitable, or appropriate to the circumstances.
The committee promised to give the proposal due consideration.
Treat every guest with due respect.
UsageMostly in set phrases: due respect, due consideration, with all due respect, often said just before disagreeing.
Similarproper, appropriate, suitable, fitting, adequate
Oppositeimproper, inappropriate, inadequate
Note
Older verse could place it after its noun. Thomas Gray's 'Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard' has 'The next with dirges due in sad array.'
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Older verse could place due after its noun, as in Gray's phrase 'dirges due'. gutenberg.org
- Thomas Gray wrote Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard. rpo.library.utoronto.ca
- The poem contains the quoted words 'The next with dirges due in sad array'. rpo.library.utoronto.ca
Less common meanings
- 5A fee paid by a member to belong to an organization, usually charged at regular intervals.
The club lowered its monthly dues for students.
Union dues are deducted directly from each paycheck.
UsageTakes a plural verb: union dues are deducted. Use pay for membership fees: pay your dues.
Similarfee, subscription, charge
- 6Recognition, credit, or fair treatment that a person has earned and deserves.
Even his rivals gave the champion his due after the match.
Critics were slow to give the author her due.
UsageMostly give someone their due, often as a concession: to give them their due, they played well.
Similarcredit, recognition
Note
A football report grants that Chelsea, 'to give them their due,' cut out their defensive lapses. It echoes the older proverb give the devil his due, which belongs with the noun for what is owed.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- A football report uses 'to give them their due' when crediting Chelsea with reducing defensive lapses. theguardian.com
- 'Give the devil his due' is an old proverb involving what is owed. folger.edu
- 7Something owed to a person or belonging to them by right, law or custom; a rightful claim.
The creditors came to collect their due once the estate was settled.
After years of unpaid overtime, the nurses were not asking for favors, only their due.
Similarentitlement
Note
The broad old noun of obligation is also the home of an old proverb, which Prince Hal quotes. In Shakespeare's The First Part of Henry the Fourth (1598), 'he will give the devil his due' means even the undeserving should get what is rightly theirs. Tennyson uses the plural for payments in kind, 'little dues of wheat, and wine and oil,' and in In Memoriam (1850) for what love is owed.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 6 facts
- Prince Hal quotes the proverb in Shakespeare's The First Part of Henry the Fourth. folger.edu
- First published in 1598; c. 1597 is a composition date. folger.edu
- The quotation is exact and refers to giving even the devil what is owed. folger.edu
- Tennyson uses 'little dues of wheat, and wine and oil' for dues in agricultural produce. gutenberg.org
- Tennyson's In Memoriam was first published in 1850. en.wikisource.org
- In Memoriam uses 'dues' for what human love is owed. gutenberg.org
- 8Straight toward a stated point, especially a compass direction; exactly.
The hikers headed due north toward the ridge.
From the dock, the island lies due west.
UsageWith a compass point: due north, due west.
Similardirectly, straight, exactly
Note
After a distance (five miles due north) it can look identical to the adjective of bearing. Only the grammar tells them apart: the adverb modifies a verb, while the adjective describes a noun.
- 9Lying directly on the bearing of a compass point, without any deviation.
Surveyors marked a due north line from the old oak to the river.
The ship held a due east course for three days.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
Latin dēbēre ("to owe"), formed from dē- ("from") and habeō ("to have"), became Old French devoir ("to owe"), whose past participle deü ("due") gave Middle English dewe.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- Latin dēbēre means “to owe”. en.wiktionary.org
- The Latin verb was formed from dē- (“from”) and habeō (“to have”). en.wiktionary.org
- Old French devoir (“to owe”) derives from Latin dēbēre. en.wiktionary.org
- Old French deü (“due”), the past participle of devoir, gave Middle English dewe. en.wiktionary.org