English · Word Candidate

ought

/ɔːt/

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Also seen as: oughts

Sense 1

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Indicating duty or obligation.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Chỉ ra nghĩa vụ hoặc trách nhiệm

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Verb

Examples

I ought to vote in the coming election.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 2

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Indicating advisability or prudence.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Đề nghị hoặc thận trọng

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Verb

Examples

You ought to always stand back from the edge of the platform.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 3

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

A statement of what ought to be the case as contrasted with what is the case.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Tuyên bố về điều nên xảy ra so với thực tế

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Noun

Examples

There are value judgments that are not reducible to observable matters of fact, and there are oughts that cannot be construed as hypothetical and, therefore, cannot be converted into statements of fact.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “ought” mean?

Indicating duty or obligation.

Is “ought” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.