owe a debt of gratitude/thanks to

phrase

: to have a good reason to be very grateful to (someone)

The whole town owes a debt of gratitude to the people who organized the parade.

Examples of owe a debt of gratitude/thanks to in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In many ways, the American people owe a debt of gratitude to the early champions of longevity medicine. — Jordan D. Metzl, The Atlantic, 19 Feb. 2026

Americans owe a debt of gratitude to the family of Tyre Nichols, the 29-year-old father who was beaten during an arrest by Memphis police and died three days later. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, 29 Jan. 2023

Movie theater operators owe a debt of gratitude to the Na’vi and the new queen of artificial intelligence. — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 15 Jan. 2023

While few in Utah know of Brewer today, Howard Spencer’s descendants owe a debt of gratitude to the Army medic who happened to be at the right place and right time in Utah to prevent Spencer’s early death. — Brian Maffly, The Salt Lake Tribune, 13 Oct. 2022

Taxpayers and professionals owe a debt of gratitude to Fogg and Xanthopoulos for pursuing this litigation. — Marie Sapirie, Forbes, 9 June 2022

The people who survived, and countless others who survived ship disasters over the years, owe a debt of gratitude to Maria Beasley (1847-1904), best known for her improvements made to the life raft. — Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 3 Dec. 2021