due
C1 (High Frequency)Formal, Semi-Formal, Neutral
Definition
Meaning
Owed or required as a right, payment, or obligation; scheduled or expected to happen or arrive at a particular time.
Having reached the point where something is payable, required, or justified; appropriate or fitting in the circumstances.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Functions primarily as an adjective and noun. The sense of 'owing' can refer to financial debts, moral/legal rights, or general appropriateness. The temporal sense ('scheduled') is very common.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Usage largely identical. The idiom 'due on' (e.g., a report is due on Friday) is slightly more common in AmE, while 'due by' is used in both. The phrase 'in due course' is more formal and slightly more common in BrE.
Connotations
Identical core connotations of obligation and expectation.
Frequency
Equally high frequency in both varieties.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
be due to [VERB] (causation)be due to [ARRIVE/ETC.] (temporal)be due [NOUN/AMOUNT] (obligation)due [NORTH/SOUTH] (direction)in due course (temporal)Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “give someone their due”
- “in due course”
- “with all due respect”
- “pay one's dues”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Refers to payments, deadlines, and deliverables (e.g., 'The invoice is due.')
Academic
Used in causal explanations ('due to the factors mentioned') and for assignment deadlines.
Everyday
Used for appointments, births, library books, and reasons ('The train is due at 5pm.', 'It was cancelled due to snow.')
Technical
In navigation for direction ('heading due east'); in law for process ('due process').
Examples
By Part of Speech
adverb
British English
- The path runs due south from the cairn.
American English
- Head due north for about two miles.
adjective
British English
- Your subscription fee is now due.
- The committee will report in due course.
- After due consideration, we rejected the offer.
American English
- The final payment is due next Tuesday.
- With all due respect, I disagree.
- We sailed due east for three days.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- The library book is due tomorrow.
- My train is due at 3 o'clock.
- The game was cancelled due to rain.
- Please pay the amount due by the end of the month.
- The success of the project was due largely to her efforts.
- After due reflection, he decided to decline the offer.
- The ambassador is due to present his credentials to the queen next week.
- The report acknowledged the criticism while giving due credit to the team's achievements.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine a library book with a DUE DATE stamped on it. This connects the word to things that are owed or expected at a certain time.
Conceptual Metaphor
TIME IS A PATH (something is 'due' when it reaches a point on the path); OBLIGATIONS ARE DEBTS (something 'due' is metaphorically owed).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid translating 'due to' as 'благодаря' when the cause is negative; use 'из-за'.
- Do not confuse 'due to' (причина) with 'because of' – they are often interchangeable, but 'due to' traditionally follows 'to be'.
- The noun 'dues' (членские взносы) is a different lexical item.
Common Mistakes
- Using 'due to' to start a sentence where 'because of' or 'owing to' might be stylistically better (e.g., 'Due to the weather, we left.' is common but informally debated).
- Confusing 'due to' (cause) with the temporal 'due' ('The meeting is due to start' vs. 'The delay is due to traffic').
Practice
Quiz
In the sentence 'The plane is due to land at 21:00', what is the primary meaning of 'due'?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Traditionally, 'due to' was used adjectivally after a form of 'to be' ('The delay was due to snow'), while 'because of' is adverbial ('We left because of snow'). In modern usage, this distinction is often blurred, especially in informal contexts.
Yes, though less common. It means 'a person's right' ('He received his due') or refers to regular payments like membership fees ('pay your union dues').
All are correct with subtle differences: 'due on' specifies a precise day/date; 'due by' sets a deadline (by or before); 'due for' indicates something is scheduled or deserved (e.g., 'due for a promotion').
It is a formal phrase meaning 'at the appropriate or right time', often implying that something will happen after the necessary procedures or a natural passage of time.
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