- to indicate duty or obligation: you ought to pay your dues
- to express prudent expediency: you ought to be more careful with your money
- (usually with reference to future time) to express probability or expectation: you ought to finish this work by Friday
- to express a desire or wish on the part of the speaker: you ought to come next week
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
ought1 /ɔt/USA pronunciation
auxiliary (modal) verb.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- [~ + to + root form of a verb]
- (used to express the opinion that the action of the main verb is one's duty or moral obligation):Every citizen ought to help.
- (used to express the opinion that the action of the main verb is one of justice, moral rightness, or the like):He ought to be punished.
- (used to express the opinion that the action of the main verb is proper, correct, or appropriate for the situation):We ought to bring her some flowers.
- (used to express the opinion that the action of the main verb is probable, that it follows naturally from the circumstances, or that it is expected):That ought to be our train now.
ought1
(ôt),USA pronunciation auxiliary verb.
n.
ought2 (ôt),USA pronunciation n., adv.
ought3 (ôt),USA pronunciation n.
- (used to express duty or moral obligation):Every citizen ought to help.
- (used to express justice, moral rightness, or the like):He ought to be punished. You ought to be ashamed.
- (used to express propriety, appropriateness, etc.):You ought to be home early. We ought to bring her some flowers.
- (used to express probability or natural consequence):That ought to be our train now.
n.
- duty or obligation.
- Middle English ought, aught, Old English āhte, past tense of āgan to owe bef. 900
- 1. See must 1.
- Ought1 forms its negative in a number of ways. Ought not occurs in all types of speech and writing and is fully standard:The conferees ought not to waste time on protocol.Oughtn't, largely a spoken form, is found mainly in the Midland and Southern dialects of the United States, where it is almost the universal form. Hadn't ought is a common spoken form in the Northern dialect area. It is sometimes condemned in usage guides and is uncommon in educated speech except of the most informal variety. Didn't ought and shouldn't ought are considered nonstandard.Both positive and negative forms of ought are almost always followed by the infinitive form:We ought to go now.You ought not to worry about it.Occasionally, to is omitted after the negative construction:Congress ought not adjourn without considering this bill.
ought2 (ôt),USA pronunciation n., adv.
- aught1.
ought3 (ôt),USA pronunciation n.
- aught2.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
ought /ɔːt/ vb (followed by to; takes an infinitive or implied infinitive)
In correct English, ought is not used with did or had. I ought not to do it, not I didn't ought to do it; I ought not to have done it, not I hadn't ought to have done it
ought /ɔːt/ pron , adv
- a variant spelling of aught1
ought /ɔːt/ n
- a less common word for nought
aught1 /ɔt/USA pronunciation
n.
aught2 /ɔt/USA pronunciation n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- [uncountable]
- anything whatever;
any part:For aught I know, it may be true.
aught2 /ɔt/USA pronunciation n. [countable]
- zero (0).
aught1
(ôt),USA pronunciation n.
adv.
aught2 (ôt),USA pronunciation n.
aught3 (ôкнt),USA pronunciation v.t. [Scot.]
adj.
n.
aught4 (ôкнt),USA pronunciation adj. [Scot.]
- anything whatever;
any part:for aught I know.
adv.
- [Archaic.]in any degree;
at all;
in any respect.
- Middle English aught, ought, Old English āht, āwiht, ōwiht, equivalent. to ā, ō ever + wiht thing, wight1 bef. 1000
aught2 (ôt),USA pronunciation n.
- a cipher (0);
zero.
- a naught, taken as an aught (compare auger). See naught
aught3 (ôкнt),USA pronunciation v.t. [Scot.]
- to own;
possess. - to owe (someone or something);
be obligated to.
adj.
- possessed of.
n.
- [Archaic.]
- ownership;
possession. - property;
a possession.
- ownership;
- bef. 1000; Middle English; Old English æht; cognate with Old High German ēht, Gothic aihts; akin to owe, own
aught4 (ôкнt),USA pronunciation adj. [Scot.]
- Scottish Termseight.
- Scottish Termseighth.
- see eight Middle English aghte, aughte, variant of eighte
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
aught, ought /ɔːt/ archaic or literary pron (used with a negative or in conditional or interrogative sentences or clauses)
- anything at all; anything whatever (esp in the phrase for aught I know)
- dialect in any least part; to any degree
aught, ought /ɔːt/ n
- a less common word for nought
'ought' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):