What does ought mean?

Definitions for ought
ɔtought

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word ought.


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Wiktionary

  1. oughtnoun

    cipher, zero, nought.

  2. Etymology: ahte, past tense of agan

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Oughtnoun

    Any thing; not nothing.

    Etymology: awhit , that is, a whit, Saxon.

    For ought that I can understand, there is no part but the bare English pale, in which the Irish have not the greatest footing. Edmund Spenser, on Ireland.

    He asked him if he saw ought. Mark viii. 23.

    To do ought good never will be our task;
    But ever to do ill our sole delight. John Milton, Par. Lost.

    Universal Lord! be bounteous still
    To give us only good; and if the night
    Have gather’d ought of evil, or conceal’d,
    Disperse it, as now light dispels the dark. John Milton.

  2. Oughtverb imperfect.

    but it has often a present signification.

    Etymology: This word the etymologists make the preterite of owe,

    Apprehending the occasion, I will add a continuance to that happy motion, and besides give you some tribute of the love and duty I long have ought you. Henry Spelman.

    This blood which men by treason sought,
    That followed, sir, which to myself I ought. Dryden.

    Judges ought to remember, that their office is to interpret law, and not to make or give law. Francis Bacon.

    Morals criticks ought to show. Alexander Pope.

    She acts just as she ought,
    But never, never reach’d one generous thought. Alexander Pope.

    If grammar ought to be taught, it must be to one that can speak the language already. John Locke.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Ought

    awt, n. (same as Aught) a vulgar corr. of nought.—adv. (Scot.) Ought′lings, at all, in any degree.

  2. Ought

    awt, v.i. to be under obligation: to be proper or necessary.—n. Ought′ness, rightness. [A.S. áhte, pa.t. of ágan, to owe.]

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'ought' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2070

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'ought' in Written Corpus Frequency: #675

  3. Verbs Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'ought' in Verbs Frequency: #339

How to pronounce ought?

How to say ought in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of ought in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of ought in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of ought in a Sentence

  1. Ted Cruz:

    What the president said is that only African American women are eligible for this slot, that 94% of Americans are ineligible, the way Biden ought to do it is to say 'I'm going to look for the best justice,' interview a lot of people, and if he happens to nominate a justice who was an African American woman, then great.

  2. Bob Bowlsby:

    I wouldn’t say there’s any hard deadline at this point, this was a hard day, and I think all of us are tired and we came away from it with the feeling that we made enough progress to keep moving forward and that the expansion of the playoff, we’re very near consensus that we believe it ought to get larger.

  3. Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler:

    You'd have to see... how good the proof of that is, and secondly, what else there is, because the fact that an impeachable offense is committed, has been committed, does not mean necessarily there ought to be an impeachment.

  4. William Schaffner:

    Our crystal balls are a little cloudy at this point this year, but the H3N2 virus should be the dominant strain this year, while it tends to produce more influenza symptoms, and that's the bad news, the good news is now the vaccine has been modified and it does include H3N2 strain, so it ought to be more on target with the dominant strain of the virus this year.

  5. Jon Lauckner:

    I'd say probably anybody who's interested ought to at least go over and kick the tires.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

ought#1#7624#10000

Translations for ought

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"ought." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/ought>.

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