would've

Verb

would

1. (auxiliary) 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.
2. (auxiliary) 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.

   Synonyms:

   used to

3. (auxiliary) 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.
4. (archaic, auxiliary) 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
5. (archaic, auxiliary) 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
6. (auxiliary, obsolete) Wished, desired (something).

See all 16 meanings of would