Word.ws English Dictionary

would-be

/ˈwʊd biː/

would-be adjective: attempting or desiring something.

Adjective

would-be (not comparable)

  1. Attempting or desiring something.
    • Would-be marines have to get through a rigorous examination.
    • As Tarzan’s heavy hand fell upon his shoulder the priest dropped his victim, and turned upon her would-be rescuer.1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 171
  2. Unfulfilled; frustrated in realizing a goal, ambition, etc.
    • Would-be film stars often become waitresses.
    • It was not till the rays of the sun had absorbed the young stranger's retreating figure on the hill that she shook off her temporary sadness and answered her would-be partner in the affirmative.1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented […], volume I, London: James R[ipley] Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., […], →OCLC, phase the first (The Maiden), page 27

Noun

would-be (plural would-bes)

  1. One who aspires to something.
    • The would-bes are very sure that the managers have it in for them; just as most young writers regard publishers as being in conspiracy against budding genius.1912, Elbert Hubbard, Hollyhocks and Goldenglow
    Synonyms:
    wannabe
  2. (India) One's fiancé or fiancée.

would-be meaning in Malayalam

would-be in Malayalam

budding, aspiring, promising
ആകാൻ ഇടയുള്ള, ആകാൻ മോഹമുള്ള, സ്ഥാനേച്ഛയുള്ള, ആകാൻ അഭിലഷിക്കുന്ന, വളർന്നു വരുന്ന, വികാസം പ്രാപിക്കുന്ന

Examples of would-be in a sentence

  • Pilton Yard, the Lynton & Barnstaple headquarters, has been taken over by a fur trading firm, and would-be trespassers to the old engine-shed are turned back by the pungent odour of heaps of carcases.1951 February, “Notes and News: Lynton & Barnstaple Remains”, in Railway Magazine, page 136:
  • Sorokin, a would-be art collector, planned to open a members-only arts club but became known as the “Soho grifter” after her deception upon New York’s glitzy social scene came to light.2019 May 9, Edward Helmore, “Anna Sorokin: fake German heiress sentenced to up to 12 years in prison”, in The Guardian:
  • [T]he envy of all the would-be beautiful of the Nor empire.1945 Sept, Richard S. Shaver, Science Fiction Adventure Classics, published 1972, page 26, column 1:

Synonyms of would-be

Forms of would-be

pluralwould-bes

Words formed from would-be

Phrases with would-be

Questions about would-be

What does would-be mean?
Would-be means attempting or desiring something.
What is would-be in Malayalam?
Would-be in Malayalam is ആകാൻ ഇടയുള്ള, ആകാൻ മോഹമുള്ള, സ്ഥാനേച്ഛയുള്ള. See Would-be meaning in Malayalam.
How do you use would-be in a sentence?
Pilton Yard, the Lynton & Barnstaple headquarters, has been taken over by a fur trading firm, and would-be trespassers to the old engine-shed are turned back by the pungent odour of heaps of carcases.
What part of speech is would-be?
Would-be can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce would-be?
Would-be is pronounced /ˈwʊd biː/.

Words near would-be in the dictionary

  1. would you like to go out with me
  2. would you mind putting on your seat belt
  3. would'nt
  4. would'st
  5. would've
  6. would-be
  7. would-be bride
  8. would-be brides
  9. would-bes
  10. woulda
  11. woulda, coulda, shoulda

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: would-be (page history and authors); would-be (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license). 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)-Vealhurl-would-be.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-would-be.wav.

Cite this entry: “would-be.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/would-be. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.