English-German translations for ought

• sollen
  Die Altersgrenzen sollen dabei nicht starr gehandhabt werden. Age limits ought not to be rigidly adhered.
  Möglicherweise nicht, aber man hätte es immerhin probieren sollen. Possibly not, but we still ought to have tried.
  Wir wären der Auffassung gewesen, dass man eine Unterscheidung hätte vornehmen sollen. Our view is that a distinction ought to have been made.

Definition of ought

• Indicating duty or obligation
• Indicating advisability or prudence
• Indicating desirability
• Indicating likelihood or probability
• ; anything obsolete spelling??--
• ; at all, to any degree
• A statement of what ought to be the case as contrasted with what is the case
• ; cipher, zero, nought

Examples

• I ought to vote in the coming election
• You ought to stand back from the edge of the platform
• He ought to read the book; it was very good
• We ought to arrive by noon if we take the motorway

Related words

• nought
• thought
• thoughtful
• brought
• bought
• sought
• thoughtlessly
• thoughtless
• dreadnought