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“Ode” or “Owed”

ode / owed are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term.

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Definitions

What each term means

Same sound, different spellings and meanings, shown with a pronunciation guide for each term.

ode OW·d

  • nouna lyric poem with complex stanza forms.

owed OW·d

  • verbbe obliged to pay or repay.
  • verbbe indebted to, in an abstract or intellectual sense.
  • verbbe in debt.
Usage

Examples in context

Real sentences for each spelling. Hover an example to copy it.

“ode”

  • …for chamber ensemble, cantatas "Horace's ode", "Gentle light").
  • ODE - Opera Discography Encyclopaedia by…
  • …poet Derzhavin in his famous ode; he later commented bitterly on…
  • …T. Barnum to write an ode for the "Swedish Nightingale", singer…
  • …quotation from John Keats's poem, "Ode on a Grecian Urn".
  • The ode is the individual’s fāl.
  • …in 1969, before signing to Ode Records.
  • …random, and beginning with the ode of the page that one…
  • The Nun," and "Ode: the Spirit of the Air
  • According to Brown, "Ode to a Nightingale" was written…

“owed”

  • …England, as Duke of Aquitaine, owed homage to the King of…
  • …concerning the duty of care owed by the City of Calgary…
  • …went on strike seeking payments owed from 1980.
  • …October 2019 Pritchard said he owed a "debt" to Bowyer for…
  • …Zeke Loftin claiming that she owed him "substantial sums of money."
  • …former minister in Mwanawasa's government owed him $100,000.
  • He also owed some of his position in…
  • …of the money they were owed (keeping half of their pay…
  • …Evans, Lawson, and Thompson all owed positions or favors to Washington's
  • …debt, including $2 million he owed to the IRS.

Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions are drawn from WordNet.

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