Word.ws English Dictionary

you shouldn't have

you shouldn't have phrase: used to express gratitude at unnecessary generosity, especially when receiving a gift.

Phrase

you shouldn't have

  1. (idiomatic) Used to express gratitude at unnecessary generosity, especially when receiving a gift.
    • What a lovely vase! You shouldn't have!

Origin of you shouldn't have

Abbreviated from full sentence with verb, such as "you shouldn't have gone through all that trouble" or "you shouldn't have spent so much money".

Questions about you shouldn't have

What does you shouldn't have mean?
You shouldn't have means used to express gratitude at unnecessary generosity, especially when receiving a gift.
What part of speech is you shouldn't have?
You shouldn't have is a phrase.

Words near you shouldn't have in the dictionary

  1. you said a mouthful
  2. you said it
  3. you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours
  4. you see
  5. you should talk
  6. you shouldn't have
  7. you shouldn't talk
  8. you smelt it, you dealt it
  9. you snooze you lose
  10. you tell me
  11. you the birthday

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: you shouldn't have (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: En-au-you shouldn't have.ogg.

Cite this entry: “you shouldn't have.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/you_shouldn%27t_have. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.