due

[ doo, dyoo ]
/ du, dyu /

adjective

noun

something that is due, owed, or naturally belongs to someone.
Usually dues. a regular fee or charge payable at specific intervals, especially to a group or organization: membership dues.

adverb

directly or exactly: a due east course.
Obsolete. duly.

Idioms for due

Origin of due

1275–1325; Middle English < Anglo-French; Middle French deu, past participle of devoir < Latin dēbēre to owe; see debt

usage note for due

11. Due to as a prepositional phrase meaning “because of, owing to” has been in use since the 14th century: Due to the sudden rainstorm, the picnic was moved indoors. Some object to this use on the grounds that due is historically an adjective and thus should be used only predicatively in constructions like The delay was due to electrical failure. Despite such objections, due to occurs commonly as a compound preposition and is standard in all varieties of speech and writing.

pronunciation note for due

See new.

OTHER WORDS FROM due

due·ness, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH due

dew do due

British Dictionary definitions for pay one's dues

due
/ (djuː) /

adjective

noun

something that is owed, required, or due
give a person his due to give or allow a person what is deserved or right

adverb

directly or exactly; straight a course due west
See also dues

Word Origin for due

C13: from Old French deu, from devoir to owe, from Latin debēre; see debt, debit

usage for due

The use of due to as a compound preposition (the performance has been cancelled due to bad weather) was formerly considered incorrect, but is now acceptable

Idioms and Phrases with pay one's dues (1 of 2)

pay one's dues

Earn something through hard work, long experience, or suffering. For example, She'd paid her dues in small-town shows before she finally got a Broadway part. This expression transfers the cost of being a paid-up member in an organization to that of gaining experience in an endeavor. [Mid-1900s]

Idioms and Phrases with pay one's dues (2 of 2)

due