ought

B1 Topic:Grammar & Function Words

Also spelled orter

US /ʊt/ UK /ɔːt/ See IPA manual

Freq #1447

Meanings

1

verb
Used to say that something is the right or sensible thing to do.

You ought to apologize to her.
2

verb
Used to say that something is likely or expected to happen.

We ought to arrive by noon if the traffic is light.
3

noun
A statement about what should be the case, as opposed to what actually is.

Philosophers warn against deriving an ought from an is.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

should

Word family

Derived forms ought-not-nessoughtismoughtness

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”).

*h₂eyḱ- Proto-Indo-European oughte Middle English āhte Old English āgan Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Grammar & Function Words

External links

# ought

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /ʊt/
**IPA (UK):** /ɔːt/
**Frequency rank:** 1447

## Meanings
1. Used to say that something is the right or sensible thing to do.
2. Used to say that something is likely or expected to happen.
3. A statement about what should be the case, as opposed to what actually is.

## Examples
- You ought to apologize to her.
- We ought to arrive by noon if the traffic is light.
- Philosophers warn against deriving an ought from an is.

## Synonyms
- should

## Derived Forms
- ought-not-ness
- oughtism
- oughtness

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *h₂eyḱ-
- Root: oughte
- Root: āhte
- Root: āgan

## 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”).

## AI Etymology
Ought comes 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”). The historical chain includes *h₂eyḱ- (Proto-Indo-European), oughte (Middle English), āhte (Old English), and āgan (Old English). The surrounding word family includes derived forms such as ought-not-ness, oughtism, and oughtness. In present use it covers used to say that something is the right or sensible thing to do, used to say that something is likely or expected to happen, and a statement about what should be the case, as opposed to what actually is.

## Topics
- Grammar & Function Words

markdown