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Owt
01
used to indicate any thing or object
Dialect
British
Slang
Grammatical Information
Animacy status
Inanimate
Composition
Simple
Countable
Plural form
owts
What does "owt" mean in British dialectal slang?
The structure is a dialectal pronunciation of "aught" (anything), with the vowel shifted from "aw" to "ow." It is used in British English, particularly in Northern England (especially Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Manchester), to mean anything or any thing. People typically say "I wouldn't do owt stupid" or "Is there owt in the fridge?" The term originated in Old English "awiht" (anything), preserved in Northern dialects, and remains a strong regional marker of the North of England, often paired with "nowt" (nothing), as in "You can't get owt for nowt" (you can't get anything for nothing).
Examples
Is there owt I can do to help?



























