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wish

[wish]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to want; desire; long for (usually followed by an infinitive or a clause): I wish to travel. I wish that it were morning.
  2. to desire (a person or thing) to be (as specified): to wish the problem settled.
  3. to entertain wishes, favorably or otherwise, for: to wish someone well; to wish someone ill.
  4. to bid, as in greeting or leave-taking: to wish someone a good morning.
  5. to request or charge: I wish him to come.
verb (used without object)
  1. to desire; long; yearn (often followed by for): Mother says I may go if I wish. I wished for a book.
  2. to make a wish: She wished more than she worked.
noun
  1. an act or instance of wishing.
  2. a request or command: I was never forgiven for disregarding my father's wishes.
  3. an expression of a wish, often one of a kindly or courteous nature: to send one's best wishes.
  4. something wished or desired: He got his wish—a new car.
Verb Phrases
  1. wish on,
    1. to force or impose (usually used in the negative): I wouldn't wish that awful job on my worst enemy.
    2. Also wish upon.to make a wish using some object as a magical talisman: to wish on a star.

Origin of wish

before 900; (v.) Middle English wisshen, Old English wȳscan; cognate with German wünschen, Old Norse æskja; akin to Old English wynn joy (see winsome), Latin venus charm (see Venus); (noun) Middle English, derivative of the v.
Related formswish·er, nounwish·less, adjectivein·ter·wish, verb (used with object), nounout·wish, verb (used with object)

Synonyms

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1. crave. 5. direct, order. 12. will, want.

Synonym study

1. Wish, desire, want indicate a longing for something. To wish is to feel an impulse toward attainment or possession of something; the strength of the feeling may be of greater or lesser intensity: I wish I could go home. Desire, a more formal word, suggests a strong wish: They desire a new regime. Want, usually colloquial in use, suggests a feeling of lack or need that imperatively demands fulfillment: People all over the world want peace.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for wish

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • "It is partly for your sake that I wish it, my poor child," said he.

    Philothea

    Lydia Maria Child

  • “I wish they may not be in league with them,” said Master Headley.

    The Armourer's Prentices

    Charlotte M. Yonge

  • I wish we might have talked more—I'm sure—when are you leaving?

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • I wish my father had intrusted his money to you instead of to the superintendent.

    Brave and Bold

    Horatio Alger

  • "If there were any use in wishing, I'd wish myself on shore," said the second.

    Brave and Bold

    Horatio Alger

British Dictionary definitions for wish

wish

verb
  1. (when tr, takes a clause as object or an infinitive; when intr, often foll by for) to want or desire (something, often that which cannot be or is not the case)I wish I lived in Italy; to wish for peace
  2. (tr) to feel or express a desire or hope concerning the future or fortune ofI wish you well
  3. (tr) to desire or prefer to be as specified
  4. (tr) to greet as specified; bidhe wished us good afternoon
  5. (tr) formal to order politelyI wish you to come at three o'clock
noun
  1. the act of wishing; the expression of some desire or mental inclinationto make a wish
  2. something desired or wished forhe got his wish
  3. (usually plural) expressed hopes or desire, esp for someone's welfare, health, etc
  4. (often plural) formal a polite order or request
See also wish on
Derived Formswisher, nounwishless, adjective

Word Origin

Old English wӯscan; related to Old Norse öskja, German wünschen, Dutch wenschen
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for wish

v.

Old English wyscan "to wish," from Proto-Germanic *wunskijanan (cf. Old Norse æskja, Danish ønske, Swedish önska, Middle Dutch wonscen, Dutch wensen, Old High German wunsken, German wunschen "to wish"), from PIE *wun-/*wen-/*won- "to strive after, wish, desire, be satisfied" (cf. Sanskrit vanati "he desires, loves, wins," Latin venus "love, sexual desire, loveliness," venerari "to worship;" see Venus). The noun is attested from c.1300. Wish fulfillment (1901) translates German wunscherfüllung (Freud, "Die Traumdeutung," 1900).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with wish

wish

In addition to the idiom beginning with wish

also see:

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.