Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use may in a sentence

40 example sentences · verb, noun

May means to be strong; to have power (over). Example: “May we request that patrons kindly take their seats.”

Examples of may by meaning

verbTo have permission to, be allowed. Used in granting permission and in questions to make polite requests.

  • you may smoke outside
  • may I sit there?
  • May we request that patrons kindly take their seats.

verbExpressing a present possibility; possibly.

  • he may be lying
  • Schrödinger's cat may or may not be in the box.

verbExpressing a disjunctive or contrastive relation between indicative statements.

  • You may be my boss, but that doesn't mean you can insult me.
  • Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive.2013 July 6, “The rise of smart beta”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8843, page 68

verbExpressing a wish (with present subjunctive effect).

  • may you win; may the weather be sunny; long may your reign last
  • Let us pray that peace may soon return to our war-torn homeland.
  • May I never miss the thrill of being near you1984, “No More Lonely Nights”, performed by Paul McCartney

nounThe hawthorn bush or its blossoms.

  • The fire from Lindfield was coming down the grassy hillside to the right between the hedges of may.1973, Patsy Adam Smith, The Barcoo Salute, Adelaide: Rigby, page 43

More sentences with may

  • You may be able to barter for some of the items you need at the local market.From the entry barter
  • Be careful when you pet that dog on the head; it may bite.From the entry head
  • The battery lasts a day in my phone, but your mileage may vary.From the entry your mileage may vary
  • I think that red dress looks really good on you, but your mileage may vary, of course.From the entry your mileage may vary
  • The nontrivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function may all lie on the critical line.From the entry zero
  • You may not move a piece to a square already occupied by one of your own pieces.From the entry square
  • It may be prison, but at least I'm getting three square meals a day.From the entry square
  • In computing, pi characters may be entered with special key combinations.From the entry pi
  • I think this bird is a him, but it may be a her.From the entry her
  • A nearby to-infinitive may be a factor for choosing 'in order to', as will emphasis.From the entry as
  • An advice of an incoming settlement payment order may be given to an off-line receiving bank.From the entry advice
  • New space telescopes may accelerate the search for other earths that may be out there.From the entry earth
  • Be careful, he has a hot temper and may take it out on you.From the entry hot
  • A remote operator may control the vehicle with a wireless handset.From the entry remote
  • Some users may not be able to access the AOL room.From the entry room
  • Under the rules of order adopted by the board, the chair may neither make nor second motions.From the entry chair
  • A polydactylous cat may have six or more toes on its paw.From the entry polydactylous
  • A car racing in a circle may retain the same speed while continually changing its velocity.From the entry velocity
  • This plant's light and fluffy seeds may be borne by the wind to remote islands.From the entry bear
  • Come retirement, their Social Security may turn out to be a lot less than they counted on.From the entry come
  • The collodion on a negative, or a coat of varnish, may creep in drying.From the entry creep
  • If you fire the pottery at too high a temperature, it may crack.From the entry fire
  • Adults may use recasts to suggest corrections to mistakes in children's speech.From the entry recast
  • High-pressure oxygen acts on the central nervous system and may cause convulsions or death.From the entry act
  • Gentlemen, may I introduce Her Royal Highness, the Sovereign and Most Imperial Majesty, Empress Elizabeth of Vicron.From the entry sovereign
  • Vigilantes may have the power to nab criminals, but they lack the authority.From the entry authority
  • There are several dead laws still on the books regulating where horses may be hitched.From the entry dead
  • The life of this milk carton may be thousands of years in this landfill.From the entry life
  • Mendel's discoveries showed how the evolution of a species may be doctored.From the entry doctor

Meaning of may

  1. verb To be strong; to have power (over).
  2. verb To be able; can.
  3. verb To be able to go.

Full definition of may

Questions about may in a sentence

How do you use may in a sentence?
May is used as a verb and noun. For example: “May we request that patrons kindly take their seats.”
What is a short sentence with may?
“he may be lying”
What does may mean?
May means to be strong; to have power (over).

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: may (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use may in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/may. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.