owing to

preposition

: because of
absent owing to illness

Examples of owing to in a Sentence

She walks with a limp owing to a childhood injury. owing to the extra snow days this year, we'll have to run an additional two days into June
Recent Examples on the Web In part because eight of Lincoln’s defensive starters are juniors and also owing to the fact the players are not overly big, the defenders, for now, are not being heavily recruited by major colleges. Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Nov. 2023 Despite predictions of elevated risk premiums owing to conflict in the Middle East and a joint Saudi-Russian output cut of 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd), global proxy benchmark Brent has failed to breach $100 per barrel levels. Gaurav Sharma, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023 The effect of that reflects in the money pharma giants behind these drugs have made, owing to soaring demand. Prarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 3 Nov. 2023 Now, the implications of the shift are spreading to business, with Nestlé moving to shut one of its baby formula plants owing to fewer newborns in China. Prarthana Prakash, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2023 California is famously difficult to campaign in owing to the size of its media markets and the huge cost of buying airtime. Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2023 Five boys are stuck at the school, unable to go home, whether owing to familial disorder or, in the case of a Korean boy, distance. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 31 Oct. 2023 Adoptions from abroad plummeted from 23,000 in 2004 to 1,500 last year, largely owing to stricter policies in Asia and elsewhere, and to a 2008 Hague Convention treaty designed to encourage adoptions within the country of origin and to reduce child trafficking. Eli Hager, ProPublica, 16 Oct. 2023 The proposal would force companies to repair big items like TVs and washing machines for five to 10 years after purchase, but mobile phones and tablets would only join the list at some point down the line, owing to other changes that are needed in the EU legal framework. David Meyer, Fortune, 11 Oct. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'owing to.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1625, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of owing to was circa 1625

Dictionary Entries Near owing to

Cite this Entry

“Owing to.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/owing%20to. Accessed 30 Nov. 2023.

Kids Definition

owing to

preposition
: because of
absent owing to illness

More from Merriam-Webster on owing to

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!