SINCE 1828

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

due for

idiom

Definition of due for

: needing, requiring, or expecting something to happen

I'm due for a dentist's appointment.

He will be due for another raise in June.

Word by Word Definitions

due play

: owed or owing as a debt
: owed or owing as a natural or moral right
: according to accepted notions or procedures : appropriate

: something due (see ¹due) or owed: such as
: something that rightfully belongs to one
: a payment or obligation required by law or custom : debt

: directly, exactly
: duly

See the full definition of due

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up due for? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

WORD OF THE DAY

garrulous

play

talkative or wordy

Words at Play

alt-5b032d1aef0e9

'Ingenious' and 'Ingenuous': More Than a Typo

One's clever, the other's like a child

alt-5b0310daaafde

A Matter-of-Fact Look at 'Deadpan'

Surely we can be serious.

9 Words from the Magical Realm

When language is magic

alt-5afefa13cc811

A Field Guide to British Noble Titles

Know your Duchess from your Baroness

Ask the Editors

video-ghost-words

Ghost Word

The story of an imaginary word that managed to sneak past our editors and enter the dictionary.

2017 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

How we chose 'feminism'

video-literally

Literally

How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts.

video-his-or-her

Is Singular 'They' a Better Choice?

The awkward case of 'his or her'

Word Games

Words Used by Nabokov Quiz

How familiar are you with Nabokov’s unfamiliar vocabulary?

Take the quiz

cow-coming-home

Farm Idioms Quiz

Not your children's farm quiz.

Take the quiz

Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz

Syn City

Build a city of skyscrapers—one synonym at a time.

Play the game