ought: Meaning and Definition of

ought

Pronunciation: (ôt), [key]
— auxiliary verb.
  1. (used to express duty or moral obligation): Every citizen ought to help.
  2. (used to express justice, moral rightness, or the like): He ought to be punished. You ought to be ashamed.
  3. (used to express propriety, appropriateness, etc.): You ought to be home early. We ought to bring her some flowers.
  4. (used to express probability or natural consequence): That ought to be our train now.
—n.
  1. duty or obligation.

ought

Pronunciation: (ôt), [key]
— n., adv.
  1. aught.

ought

Pronunciation: (ôt), [key]
— n.
  1. aught.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.