ought

¹

[ awt ]

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. You ought to be ashamed.

3. (used to express propriety, appropriateness, etc.):

   You ought to be home early. We ought to bring her some flowers.

4. (used to express probability or natural consequence):

   That ought to be our train now.

noun

1. duty or obligation.

ought

²

[ awt ]

noun

1. aught ².

ought

¹

/ ɔːt /

verb

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

ought

²

/ ɔːt /

noun

1. a less common word for nought

ought

³

/ ɔːt /

pronoun

1. a variant spelling of aught 1

Usage Note

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.

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of ought¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English ought, aught, Old English āhte, past tense of āgan “to owe ”

Word History and Origins

Origin of ought¹

Old English āhte, past tense of āgan to owe ; related to Gothic aihta

Origin of ought²

C19: mistaken division of a nought as an ought; see nought

Synonym Study

See must ¹.

Example Sentences

But it also ought to be a powerful consideration in the private deliberations of Senate Republicans, even if they don’t give a fig for constitutional government.

From Slate

All of this together ought to be a stark warning about what’s ahead for Palestinians, and about what the next American administration will support or even sponsor.

From Slate

We forget that they aren’t merely self-interested careerists willing to whisper home truths while they trumpet lies; they aren’t just willing to sacrifice themselves to the collective-action defense holding that if bravery were necessary, someone else ought to be brave.

From Slate

The plight of Kapadia’s Oscar campaign ought to be a tiny note in the larger conversation around the movie, a prize winner at Cannes.

From Los Angeles Times

"If vaccines are working for somebody, I’m not going to take them away. People ought to have choice, and that choice ought to be informed by the best information," he told NBC News last week.

From BBC

Related Words

• allow
• become
• consider
• enjoy
• experience
• feel
• know
• leave
• need
• permit
• see
• suffer
• undergo