Ought
adv, noun, pron, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A statement of what ought to be the case as contrasted with what is the case.
"There are value judgments that are not reducible to observable matters of fact, and there are oughts that cannot be construed as hypothetical and, therefore, cannot be converted into statements of fact."
- 2 Alternative spelling of aught; cipher, zero, nought. alt-of, alternative
"I go back at eight o'clock to-morrow morning, and have got only three—three oughts an ought—three twos six—sixty pound."
- 1 simple past of owe form-of, obsolete, past
"There was a certayne lender / which had two detters / the one ought five hondred pence / and the other fifty."
- 2 Indicating duty or obligation. auxiliary, dated, formal
"I ought to vote in the coming election."
- 3 Indicating advisability or prudence. auxiliary, dated, formal
"You ought to always stand back from the edge of the platform."
- 4 Indicating desirability. auxiliary, dated, formal
"He ought to read the book; it was very good."
- 5 Indicating likelihood or probability. auxiliary, dated, formal
"We ought to arrive by noon if we take the motorway, shouldn't we?"
- 1 Alternative spelling of aught; at all, to any degree. alt-of, alternative, not-comparable
- 1 Alternative spelling of aught; anything alt-of, alternative
"Is it a small benefit, that I am placed there […] where I see no drunken comessations, no rebellious routs, no violent oppressions, no obscene rejoicings, nor ought else that might either vex or affright my soul?"
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"You look tired. You ought to rest for an hour or two."
Etymology
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. Cognate with Sanskrit ईश्वर (īśvará, “capable of, liable”).
Related phrases
More for "ought"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.