pay one's dues









pay one's dues


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

  1. something that is due, owed, or naturally belongs to someone.
  2. Usually dues. a regular fee or charge payable at specific intervals, especially to a group or organization: membership dues.

adverb

  1. directly or exactly: a due east course.
  2. Obsolete. duly.

Idioms

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.

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 arrivethe train is now due
  6. due to attributable to or caused by

noun

  1. something that is owed, required, or due
  2. give a person his due to give or allow a person what is deserved or right

adverb

  1. directly or exactly; straighta course due west

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. Earn something through hard work, long experience, or suffering. For example, She’d paid her dues in small-town shows before she finally got a Broadway part. This expression transfers the cost of being a paid-up member in an organization to that of gaining experience in an endeavor. [Mid-1900s] In addition to the idiom beginning with due

  • due to
  • also see:

  • give credit (where it’s due)
  • give someone his or her due
  • give the devil his due
  • in due course
  • pay one’s dues
  • with all due respect
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