Word.ws English Dictionary

would-bes

would-bes is the plural of would-be.

Meaning of would-be

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.

See all 4 meanings of would-be

Questions about would-bes

What is would-bes the plural of?
Would-bes is the plural of would-be.

Words near would-bes in the dictionary

  1. would'st
  2. would've
  3. would-be
  4. would-be bride
  5. would-be brides
  6. would-bes
  7. woulda
  8. woulda, coulda, shoulda
  9. woulda, coulda, shouldas
  10. woulda, shoulda, coulda
  11. woulde

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: would-bes (page history and authors); would-be (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.

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