would
/wəd/
would verb: used to form the "anterior future", or "future in the past", indicating a futurity relative to a past time. Also the ellipsis of I would.
Verb
would
- Used to form the "anterior future", or "future in the past", indicating a futurity relative to a past time.
- On my first day at University, I met the woman who would become my wife.
- Hi! I thought I'd come over and introduce myself. My name’s Chema.
- Used to, did repeatedly, habitually; indicates an action that happened several times in the past (cannot describe continuous states, as in I used to live in London)
- When we were younger, we would cycle out to the beach most summer Sundays.
- No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or otherwise his man would be there with a message to say that his master would shortly join me if I would kindly wait.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 46
- Synonyms:
- used to
- Was or were determined to; indicating someone's insistence upon doing something.
- I asked her to stay in with me, but she would go out.
- Then he took to breeding silk-worms, which he would bring in two or three times a day, in little paper boxes, to show the old lady[…].1836, “Boz” [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], chapter V, in Sketches by “Boz,” Illustrative of Every-day Life, and Every-day People. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John Macrone...
- Wanted to.
- And thenne at laste a-nother sayd that he wolde have eyren. Then the good wyf sayd that she understod hym wel.1490, William Caxton, Prologue to Eneydos
- The Greeks, especially those who would be thought adepts in mystic theology, ran after fantastic allegories […].1852, James Murdock, trans. Johann Lorenz Mosheim, Institutes of Ecclesiastical History, II.7.iii
- Used with ellipsis of the infinitive verb, or postponement to a relative clause, in various senses.
- At which time he told me, he would to London that week, and so to Oxford.1694, John Strype, Memorials of The Most Reverend Father in God, Thomas Cranmer, Appendix page 68
- He sat as one astonish'd, a good-while, looking at me, without speaking a Word, till I came quite up to him, kneel'd on one Knee to him, and almost whether he would or no, kiss'd his Hand[…].1724, Daniel Defoe, Roxana, Penguin, page 107
- Wished, desired (something).
- Used as the auxiliary of the simple conditional modality, indicating a state or action that is conditional on another.
- If I won the lottery, I would give half the money to charity.
- I'd never do anything that went against my conscience.
- Without explicit condition, or with loose or vague implied condition, indicating a hypothetical or imagined state or action.
- I would love to come and visit.
- Look at that yummy cake! I would eat that all up!
- Suggesting conditionality or potentiality in order to express a sense of politeness, tentativeness, indirectness, hesitancy, uncertainty, etc.
- I would ask you all to sit down.
- I would imagine that they have already left.
- Used to express what the speaker would do in another person's situation, as a means of giving a suggestion or recommendation.
- It's disgraceful the way that they've treated you. I would write and complain.
- Used to express the speaker's belief or assumption.
- She looked as if she would be sick.
- He's very security-conscious, so he would have remembered to lock the door.
- Could naturally be expected to (given the situation, the tendencies of someone's character etc.).
- Sorry, officer, I wouldn't know anything about the crime, since I was nowhere near the scene.
- The free access model, the media magnate said last week, was "malfunctioning". Well he would, wouldn't he?2009 May 10, “Is the era of free news over?”, in The Observer
Show 3 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
- Used interrogatively to express a polite request; are (you) willing to …?
- Would you pass the salt, please?
- Just reach me down that file, would you.
- Might wish (+ verb in past subjunctive); often used in the first person (with or without that) in the sense of "if only".
- PARIS
My lord, I would that Thursday were tomorrow.c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and... - KING HENRY
Thou dost not wish more help from England, coz?
WESTMORELAND
God’s will, my liege, would you and I alone,
Without more help, could fight this royal battle!1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
- PARIS
- Might desire; wish (something).
- What dost thou professe? What would’st thou with vs?c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
Noun
would (plural woulds)
- Something that would happen, or would be the case, under different circumstances; a potentiality.
- When the golf ball is there, the whole self-interference package — the hopes, worries, and fears; the thoughts on how-to and how-not-to; the woulds, the coulds, and the shoulds — is there too.1996, Fred Shoemaker, Extraordinary Golf: The Art of the Possible, page 88
- Shushona you must learn to rightfully prioritize all the woulds, shoulds and coulds of your life.2010, Shushona Novos, The Personal Universal: A Guidebook for Spiritual Evolution, page 395
Also used as
would is also the ellipsis of I would.
would meaning in Assamese
would in Assamese
- indicating an action or state that is conditional on another
- হেঁতেন hẽten, হয় hoy, হন্তে honte
Examples of would in a sentence
- I'm really flattered you would call your daughter after me.
- They thought anything Elvis did would sell, but that was not true.
- Most other people would do it differently, helping anybody who was in trouble, whether they knew them or not.
- I would say/think we would/might do better to catch the earlier flight.
- They would be arriving in London round about now.
- That her Lily should have been won and not worn, had been, and would be, a trouble to her for ever.1867, Anthony Trollope, chapter 28, in Last Chronicle of Barset:
Synonyms of would
Forms of would
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| alternative form (obsolete) | wou'd |
| Noun | |
| plural | woulds |
Origin of would
From Old English wolde, past tense of willan, predecessor of will. The loss of /l/ in this word is probably due to weak stress, as in should and could (though in the latter, the /l/ was due to the analogy of the former two).
Words formed from would
- as fate would have it
- as luck would have it
- be it what it would
- butter would not melt in someone's mouth
- chance would be a fine thing
- claret would be port if it could
- do unto others as you would have them do unto you
- Eddie would go
- face that would stop a clock
- how would I know
- if pigs had wings, they would fly
- I would
- I would rather die
- never-would-be
- the cat would eat fish but would not wet her feet
- what would Jesus do
- what would you like
- who would have guessed
- who would have known
- who would have thought it
- who would have thunk it
- would give a Jew's eye
- would have liked to
- would it hurt
- would it kill someone
- would lose one's head if it wasn't attached
- would lose one's head if it wasn't bolted on
- would lose one's head if it wasn't glued on
- would lose one's head if it wasn't screwed on
- would lose one's head if it wasn't stuck on
- would lose one's head if it wasn't tied on
- would lose one's head if it weren't attached
- would the real someone please stand up
- would you believe
- would you believe it
- would you be so kind as to
- would you like to go out with me
- would you mind putting on your seat belt
- you would think
Phrases with would
- would of
- faces that would stop clocks
- faces that would stop a clock
- drove a nail where it would go
- driven a nail where it would go
- could have, would have, should have
- if wishes were horses, beggars would ride
- if someone told you to jump off a cliff, would you do it
- if someone told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it
- as the mountain could not wait upon Mahomet, Mahomet would go to the mountain
Words that rhyme with would
8 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about would
- What does would mean?
- Would means used to form the "anterior future", or "future in the past", indicating a futurity relative to a past time.
- What is would in Assamese?
- Would in Assamese is হেঁতেন (hẽten), হয় (hoy), হন্তে (honte). See Would meaning in Assamese.
- How do you use would in a sentence?
- I'm really flattered you would call your daughter after me.
- What part of speech is would?
- Would can be a verb or a noun.
- How do you pronounce would?
- Would is pronounced /wəd/.
Words near would in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: would (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Pvanp7-would (more distinctly unstressed).wav, en-us-would.ogg.
Cite this entry: “would.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/would. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.