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ought
1[awt]
auxiliary verb
(used to express duty or moral obligation).
Every citizen ought to help.
(used to express justice, moral rightness, or the like).
He ought to be punished. You ought to be ashamed.
(used to express propriety, appropriateness, etc.).
You ought to be home early. We ought to bring her some flowers.
(used to express probability or natural consequence).
That ought to be our train now.
noun
duty or obligation.
ought
2[awt]
noun
ought
1/ ɔː /
verb
to indicate duty or obligation
you ought to pay your dues
to express prudent expediency
you ought to be more careful with your money
(usually with reference to future time) to express probability or expectation
you ought to finish this work by Friday
to express a desire or wish on the part of the speaker
you ought to come next week
ought
2/ ɔː /
pronoun
a variant spelling of aught 1
ought
3/ ɔː /
noun
a less common word for nought
Usage
51Թ History and Origins
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of ought1
Origin of ought2
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
The people thought there ought to be additional parties, and proposed an amendment which would add additional members of parliament.
There ought to be a process where these deliberations give rise to ballot propositions, instead of very wealthy individuals funding signature collection drives.
There ought to be a way of getting public interest propositions on the ballot, and then you ought to have deliberation about the merits of the ballot proposition, and that's on the ballot as a recommendation.
Unfortunately, when Latinos achieve positions that ought to wield power — such as Padilla’s ascent to the Senate — the positions themselves tend to be diminished, so that — again, like Padilla being silenced at a press conference — the Latinos who gain prominence are denied the power that non-Latinos enjoy in parallel positions.
“You ought to see my desk,” Hulett said.
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