would
1 Americanauxiliary verb
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a simple past tense and past participle of will.
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(used to express the future in past sentences).
He said he would go tomorrow.
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(used in place of will, to make a statement or form a question less direct or blunt).
That would scarcely be fair. Would you be so kind?
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(used to express repeated or habitual action in the past).
We would visit Grandma every morning up at the farm.
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(used to express an intention or inclination).
Nutritionists would have us all eat whole grains.
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(used to express an uncertainty).
It would appear that he is guilty.
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(used in conditional sentences to express choice or possibility).
They would come if they had the fare. If the temperature were higher, the water would evaporate.
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would have, (used with a past participle to express unfulfilled intention or preference).
I would have saved you some but Jimmy took it all.
verb (used with object)
idioms
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would like, (used to express desire).
I would like to go next year.
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would rather. rather.
noun
verb
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used as an auxiliary to form the past tense or subjunctive mood of will 1
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used as an auxiliary to indicate willingness or desire in a polite manner
would you help me, please?
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used as an auxiliary to describe a past action as being accustomed or habitual
every day we would go for walks
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I wish
would that he were here
Commonly Confused
See should.
Etymology
Origin of would
First recorded before 900; Middle English would, wald(e), wold(e), wuld(e), Old English wolde, walde; will 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A loss to the Huskies, who are 14-15, would make climbing back from the bubble brink especially harrowing.
From Los Angeles Times
"It is not something that would cross my mind until you mentioned it," he said.
From BBC
Saddam Hussein, Iraq's president, feared that Khomeini's Islamic revolution would spread abroad and undermine his own regime.
From BBC
A surge in energy costs would squeeze consumers and threaten to upend a fragile global economy already battered by trade conflicts.
Iran’s Constitution dictates a new leader would be selected by an Assembly of Experts, a body of 88 clerics.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
