ought


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ought

should; duty or obligation: You ought to go to the memorial service.
Not to be confused with:
aught – anything whatever; any part: for aught I know; a cipher; zero
naught – nothing; be without result: come to naught; lost; ruined
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

ought 1

 (ôt)
aux.v.
1. Used to indicate obligation or duty: You ought to work harder than that.
2. Used to indicate advisability or prudence: You ought to wear a raincoat.
3. Used to indicate desirability: You ought to have been there; it was great fun.
4. Used to indicate probability or likelihood: She ought to finish by next week.

[Middle English oughten, to be obliged to, from oughte, owned, from Old English āhte, past tense of āgan, to possess; see aik- in Indo-European roots.]
Usage Note: Unlike other auxiliary verbs, ought usually takes to with its accompanying verb: We ought to go. Sometimes the accompanying verb is dropped if the meaning is clear: Should we begin soon? Yes, we ought to. In questions and negative sentences, especially those with contractions, to is also sometimes omitted: Oughtn't we be going soon? This omission of to, however, is not common in written English. Like must and auxiliary need, ought to does not change to show past tense: He said we ought to get moving along. · Usages such as He hadn't ought to come and She shouldn't ought to say that are common in many varieties of American English. They should be avoided in written English, however, in favor of the standard ought not to.

ought 2

 (ôt)
pron. & adv. Chiefly British
Variant of aught1.

ought 3

 (ôt)
n.
Variant of aught2.

ought 4

 (ôt)
v. Obsolete
A past participle of owe.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ought

(ɔːt)
vb (foll by to; takes an infinitive or implied infinitive)
1. to indicate duty or obligation: you ought to pay your dues.
2. to express prudent expediency: you ought to be more careful with your money.
3. (usually with reference to future time) to express probability or expectation: you ought to finish this work by Friday.
4. to express a desire or wish on the part of the speaker: you ought to come next week.
[Old English āhte, past tense of āgan to owe; related to Gothic aihta]
Usage: 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 nought1
[C19: mistaken division of a nought as an ought; see nought]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ought1

(ɔt)
auxiliary verb.
1. (used to express duty or moral obligation): Every citizen ought to help.
2. (used to express justice, moral rightness, or the like): He ought to be punished.
3. (used to express propriety, appropriateness, etc.): We ought to bring her some flowers.
4. (used to express probability or natural consequence): That ought to be our train now.
n.
5. duty or obligation.
[before 900; Middle English ought, aught, Old English āhte, past tense of āgan to owe]

ought2

(ɔt)

n., adv.

ought3

(ɔt)

n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
Translations
كانَ يَجِب أن، ينْبَغي أن يكون قَديَنْبَغِي أَنيَنْبَغي، يَجِب
měl by
burdeburde have
pitäisi
trebati
ætti
・・・するべきだ
~해야 한다
reikėtųturėčiauturėtų
mal by
borde
ควรจะ
malımalıydısa iyi olursa iyi olurduzorunda olmak
nên

ought

1 [ɔːt] MODAL AUX VB
1. (moral obligation) → deber
I ought to do itdebería hacerlo, debiera hacerlo
one ought not to do itno se debiera hacer
I ought to have done itdebiera haberlo hecho
you ought to have warned meme deberías haber avisado
he ought to have knowndebía saberlo
I thought I ought to tell youme creí en el deber de decírselo
to behave as one oughtcomportarse como se debe
2. (vague desirability) you ought to go and see itvale la pena ir a verlo
you ought to have seen him!¡tenías que haberle visto!
3. (probability) → deber
he ought to windebería ganar
that ought to be enoughcon eso debería ser suficiente
he ought to have arrived by nowdebería de haber llegado ya
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

ought

[ˈɔːt] [ought] (pt) modal vb
(obligation) I ought to do it → je devrais le faire, il faudrait que je le fasse.
I ought to phone my parents → Je devrais appeler mes parents.
sb/sth ought to have ...
I ought to have phoned my parents → J'aurais dû appeler mes parents.
This ought to have been corrected → Cela aurait dû être corrigé.
(prohibition)
You ought not to do that → Tu ne devrais pas faire ça.
(prediction)
He ought to win → Il devrait gagner.
He ought to be there now → Il devrait être déjà là.
he ought to have arrived by now (oddly he hasn't)il devrait déjà être arrivé
this ought to ... (is likely to be)
This ought to be interesting → Cela devrait être intéressant.
(advice)
You ought to go and see it → Vous devriez aller le voir.
You ought to see a doctor → Vous devriez aller voir un médecin.
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

ought

1
vb aux
(indicating moral obligation) I ought to do itich sollte or müsste es tun; he ought to have comeer hätte kommen sollen or müssen; this ought to have been donedas hätte man tun sollen or müssen; ought I to go too? — yes, you ought (to)/no, you oughtn’t (to)sollte or müsste ich auch (hin)gehen? — ja doch/nein, das sollen Sie nicht; he thought he ought to tell you/you ought to knower meinte, er sollte Ihnen das sagen/Sie sollten das wissen; people have come who ought not to have donees sind Leute gekommen, die nicht hätten kommen sollen; oughtn’t you to have left by now?hätten Sie nicht schon gehen müssen?; cars are parked where they ought not to beAutos sind an Stellen geparkt, wo sie nicht hingehören; he behaved just as he ought (to have) (= was well-behaved)er hat sich völlig korrekt benommen; (= did the right thing)er hat sich völlig richtig verhalten
(indicating what is right, advisable, desirable) you ought to see that filmden Film sollten Sie sehen; you ought to have seen his facesein Gesicht hätten Sie sehen müssen; she ought to have been a teachersie hätte Lehrerin werden sollen
(indicating probability) he ought to win the raceer müsste (eigentlich) das Rennen gewinnen; come at six, that ought to be early enoughkomm (mal) um sechs, das sollte or müsste früh genug sein; that ought to dodas dürfte wohl or müsste reichen; he ought to be here sooner müsste bald hier sein; he ought to have left by nower müsste inzwischen gegangen sein; … and I ought to know!… und ich muss es doch wissen!
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

ought

2 [ɔːt] (ought (pt)) modal aux vb
a. (moral obligation) I ought to do itdovrei farlo
one ought not to do it → non lo si dovrebbe fare
this ought to have been corrected → questo avrebbe dovuto essere corretto
b. (vague desirability) you ought to go and see itdovresti andare a vederlo, faresti bene ad andarlo a vedere
c. (probability) that ought to be enoughquello dovrebbe bastare
he ought to have arrived by now → dovrebbe essere arrivato, ormai
he ought to win → dovrebbe vincere
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

ought

(oːt) negative short form oughtn't (ˈoːtnt) verb
(usually with to).
1. used to indicate duty; should. You ought to help them; He oughtn't to have done that.
2. used to indicate something that one could reasonably expect; should. He ought to have been able to do it.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

ought

يَنْبَغِي أَن měl by burde müssen πρέπει deber, tener pitäisi il faut trebati dovere ・・・するべきだ ~해야 한다 moeten burde mieć powinność dever следует borde ควรจะ zorunda olmak nên 应该做
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

ought

v. deber, deber de + inf.; ser necesario, tener la obligación de + inf;
you ___ to take the medicationdebe, debes tomar la medicina.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
References in classic literature ?
This inquiry will naturally divide itself into three branches -- the objects to be provided for by the federal government, the quantity of power necessary to the accomplishment of those objects, the persons upon whom that power ought to operate.
These powers ought to exist without limitation, BECAUSE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO FORESEE OR DEFINE THE EXTENT AND VARIETY OF NATIONAL EXIGENCIES, OR THE CORRESPONDENT EXTENT AND VARIETY OF THE MEANS WHICH MAY BE NECESSARY TO SATISFY THEM.
Nearly the same inquiry may be made concerning a woman and a child, whether these also have their proper virtues; whether a woman ought to be temperate, brave, and just, and whether a child is temperate or no; and indeed this inquiry ought to be general, whether the virtues of those who, by nature, either govern or are governed, are the same or different; for if it is necessary that both of them should partake of the fair and good, why is it also necessary that, without exception, the one should govern, the other always be governed?
and, consequently, at what moment ought it to be discharged in order that it may touch the moon at a particular point?
What point in the heavens ought the cannon to be aimed at which is intended to discharge the projectile?
The powers of the convention ought, in strictness, to be determined by an inspection of the commissions given to the members by their respective constituents.
The one is, that every part of the expression ought, if possible, to be allowed some meaning, and be made to conspire to some common end.
A prince ought to have no other aim or thought, nor select anything else for his study, than war and its rules and discipline; for this is the sole art that belongs to him who rules, and it is of such force that it not only upholds those who are born princes, but it often enables men to rise from a private station to that rank.
As regards action, he ought above all things to keep his men well organized and drilled, to follow incessantly the chase, by which he accustoms his body to hardships, and learns something of the nature of localities, and gets to find out how the mountains rise, how the valleys open out, how the plains lie, and to understand the nature of rivers and marshes, and in all this to take the greatest care.
SOCRATES: Why, Crito, when a man has reached my age he ought not to be repining at the approach of death.
Now, if you fear on our account, be at ease; for in order to save you, we ought surely to run this, or even a greater risk; be persuaded, then, and do as I say.
JUDGES ought to remember, that their office is jus dicere, and not jus dare; to interpret law, and not to make law, or give law.