Meaning of oblige in English

oblige

verb

/əˈblaɪdʒ/ us

/əˈblaɪdʒ/

oblige verb (FORCE)

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[ T + obj + to infinitive ]

(US or UK formal also obligate)

to force someone to do something, or to make it necessary for someone to do something:

The law obliges companies to pay decent wages to their employees.

The law does not obligate sellers to accept the highest offer.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Causing somebody to act

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oblige verb (HELP)

C1 [ I or T ]

to please or help someone, especially by doing something they have asked you to do:

We only went to the party to oblige some old friends who asked us to be there.

We needed a guide and he was only too happy to oblige.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Helping and co-operating

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Phrasal verb

oblige someone with something

(Definition of oblige from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

oblige | American Dictionary

oblige

verb

/əˈblɑɪdʒ/

oblige verb (FORCE)

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[ T ] fml

to force or make it expected for someone to do something:

Circumstances obliged him to leave town.

oblige verb (HELP)

[ I/T ]

to please or help someone, esp. by doing something the person has asked you to do:

[ I ] We needed a guide and he was only too happy to oblige.

obliged

adjective us

/əˈblɑɪdʒd/

[ + to infinitive ] He was obliged to call the nurse to help him up again.

(Definition of oblige from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

oblige | Business English

oblige

verb

/əˈblaɪdʒ/ us

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[ T ] LAW

to force someone to do something, or to make it necessary for someone to do something:

be obliged to do sth Employers are obliged to pay employees sick pay.

Sellers are not legally obliged to accept the highest offer.

Companies are obliged by law to carry out regular safety checks.

a law/treaty/agreement obliges sth The law obliges full disclosure of political contributions.

[ I or T ]

to please or help someone, especially by doing something they have asked you to do:

He went to the conference to oblige his boss.

We needed some help with our accounts and she was only too happy to oblige.

(Definition of oblige from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of oblige

oblige

Fearing disqualification, competing architects feel obliged to keep closely to the brief, and their opportunity to question it is very limited.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Convention and common sense dictated that potential purchasers were obliged to scrutinise the accounts of the target company.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Thus, donors should not resent a lack of giving on behalf of past recipients, nor should recipients feel obliged to return benefits to a donor.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

I do wish publishers would stop feeling obliged to make claims which are at best over-ambitious and at worse misleading.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The bill obliges physicians to report euthanasia to the prosecution, while euthanasia itself remains a criminal offence.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The maid was obliging, pointing out the rooms where both men slept.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Only in 1820 were the crown lawyers statutorily obliged to bring a libel information to trial within a year of the filing date.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Such - mostly community-level - organisational structures have also been obliged to develop the capacity to deal with other stakeholders at the local, regional and national level.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Students with grants in such schools were usually obliged to perform services in exchange, such as cleaning.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Consider, for example, the fact that we are all obliged to refrain from picking our respective noses in public places.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Furthermore, there are no term limits and parties are obliged to nominate incumbents desiring re-election regardless of their conduct in office.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

I am obliged to walk one mile, but may unselfishly walk a second.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Therefore, for all practical purposes, it must be shown that religion is truth-oriented before we are obliged to examine pro-religious arguments.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Again, being obliged to do it unless and until someone else does it will solve the problem only where there is perfect communication.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Countries with regulations above the minimum standard are not obliged to decrease their standard levels.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

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These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of oblige?

Translations of oblige

in Chinese (Traditional)

迫使, 責成, 強迫，迫使…

Meaning of oblige in English

oblige verb (FORCE)

oblige verb (HELP)

Phrasal verb

oblige | American Dictionary

oblige verb (FORCE)

oblige verb (HELP)

obliged

oblige | Business English

Examples of oblige

Translations of oblige

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