Dew or due?
dew is a noun meaning “Any moisture from the atmosphere condensed by cool bodies upon their surfaces”; due is an adjective meaning “Owed or owing”. Use dew as a noun and due as an adjective (due is also a noun: “Deserved acknowledgment”). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) due is about 68 times as common as dew.
What is the difference between dew and due?
| dew | due | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb | adjective, adverb, noun |
| Meaning | Any moisture from the atmosphere condensed by cool bodies upon their surfaces Moisture in the air that settles on plants, etc in the morning or evening, resulting in drops To wet with, or as if with, dew; to moisten | Owed or owing Appropriate Directly; exactly |
| Example | There was a heavy dew this morning | He is due four weeks of back pay |
| Forms | dews | none |
| Pronunciation | /d͡ʒuː/ /djuː/ /duː/ | /djuː/ /dʒuː/ /djʉw/ |
| In writing | 3.3 times per million words | 224 times per million words |
Sources: dew and due in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of dew and due
dew
- 1
Any moisture from the atmosphere condensed by cool bodies upon their surfaces
- 2
To wet with, or as if with, dew; to moisten
- 3
Acronym of Distant Early Warning
- 4
Initialism of directed-energy weapon
- 5
Moisture in the air that settles on plants, etc in the morning or evening, resulting in drops
- 6
To deposit dew
- 7
An instance of such moisture settling on plants, etc
There was a heavy dew this morning
- 8
Anything that falls lightly and in a refreshing manner
due
- 1
Owed or owing
He is due four weeks of back pay
- 2
Directly; exactly
The river runs due north for about a mile
- 3
Deserved acknowledgment
Give him his due – he is a good actor
- 4
Appropriate
With all due respect, you're wrong about that
- 5
A membership fee
- 6
Scheduled; expected
Rain is due this afternoon
- 7
That which is owed; debt; that which belongs or may be claimed as a right; whatever custom, law, or morality requires to be done, duty
- 8
Having reached the expected, scheduled, or natural time
The baby is just about due
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, dew or due?
dew appears 3.3 times per million words; due 224 times per million words.
dew 3.3 times per million wordsdue 224 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).