due

[doo, dyoo] /du, dyu/
adjective
1.
owed at present; having reached the date for payment:
This bill is due.
2.
owing or owed, irrespective of whether the time of payment has arrived:
This bill is due next month.
3.
owing or observed as a moral or natural right.
4.
rightful; proper; fitting:
due care; in due time.
5.
adequate; sufficient:
a due margin for delay.
6.
under engagement as to time; expected to be ready, be present, or arrive; scheduled:
The plane is due at noon.
noun
7.
something that is due, owed, or naturally belongs to someone.
8.
Usually, dues. a regular fee or charge payable at specific intervals, especially to a group or organization:
membership dues.
adverb
9.
directly or exactly:
a due east course.
10.
Obsolete, duly.
Idioms
11.
due to,
  1. attributable to; ascribable to:
    The delay was due to heavy traffic.
  2. because of; owing to:
    All planes are grounded due to fog.
12.
give someone his / her due,
  1. to give what justice demands; treat fairly:
    Even though he had once cheated me, I tried to give him his due.
  2. to credit a disliked or dishonorable person for something that is likable, honorable, or the like.
13.
pay one's dues, to earn respect, a position, or a right by hard work, sacrifice, or experience:
She's a famous musician now, but she paid her dues with years of practice and performing in small towns.
Origin
1275-1325; Middle English < Anglo-French; Middle French deu, past participle of devoir < Latin dēbēre to owe; see debt
Related forms
dueness, noun
Can be confused
dew, do, due (see synonym study at do; see usage note at the current entry)
Usage note
11. Due to as a prepositional phrase meaning “because of, owing to” has been in use since the 14th century: Due to the sudden rainstorm, the picnic was moved indoors. Some object to this use on the grounds that due is historically an adjective and thus should be used only predicatively in constructions like The delay was due to electrical failure. Despite such objections, due to occurs commonly as a compound preposition and is standard in all varieties of speech and writing.
Pronunciation note
See new.
Examples from the web for dues
  • Instead of paying membership dues, intimates spring for drinks or dinners.
  • dues to a chamber of commerce if membership helps you do your job.
  • Renew your bar membership or pay your bar dues online.
  • There are people who say you couldn't possibly get to an interesting musical experience without paying your dues.
  • They don't want to put in their dues, won't work extra hours, won't show up early to clean out their work vehicles.
  • With many many more hours of research you will have paid your dues and gained more understanding.
  • But the law went much further in an obvious attempt to weaken unions by making it harder for them to collect dues and organize.
  • Unions collect dues for the expressed purpose of pushing the legal discourse towards workers' interests.
  • They must now join the club of the industrial countries and pay their dues, including aid to the poorer countries.
  • They had to pay monthly dues and share their windfall profits.
British Dictionary definitions for dues

dues

/djuːz/
plural noun
1.
(sometimes sing) charges, as for membership of a club or organization; fees: trade-union dues

due

/djuː/
adjective
1.
(postpositive) immediately payable
2.
(postpositive) owed as a debt, irrespective of any date for payment
3.
requisite; fitting; proper
4.
(prenominal) adequate or sufficient; enough
5.
(postpositive) expected or appointed to be present or arrive: the train is now due
6.
due to, attributable to or caused by
noun
7.
something that is owed, required, or due
8.
give a person his due, to give or allow a person what is deserved or right
adverb
9.
directly or exactly; straight: a course due west
See also dues
Usage note
The use of due to as a compound preposition (the performance has been cancelled due to bad weather) was formerly considered incorrect, but is now acceptable
Word Origin
C13: from Old French deu, from devoir to owe, from Latin debēre; see debt, debit
Word Origin and History for dues
n.

"fee for membership," 1660s, from plural of due (n.). To pay (one's) dues in the figurative sense is from 1943. "Giue them their due though they were diuels" [1589].

due

adj.

early 14c., "customary, regular;" mid-14c., "owing, payable," from Old French deu, past participle of devoir "to owe," from Latin debere "to owe" (see debt).

In reference to points of the compass (e.g. due east) it is attested from c.1600, originally nautical, from notion of "fitting, rightful." As an adverb from 1590s; as a noun from early 15c. Prepositional phrase due to (much maligned by grammarians) is from 1897.

Slang definitions & phrases for dues

dues

Related Terms

pay one's dues


Idioms and Phrases with dues

due

In addition to the idiom beginning with
due
also see: