wish
to want; desire; long for (usually followed by an infinitive or a clause): I wish to travel.I wish that it were morning.
to desire (a person or thing) to be (as specified): to wish the problem settled.
to entertain wishes, favorably or otherwise, for: to wish someone well;to wish someone ill.
to bid, as in greeting or leave-taking: to wish someone a good morning.
to request or charge: I wish him to come.
to desire; long; yearn (often followed by for): Mother says I may go if I wish.I wished for a book.
to make a wish: She wished more than she worked.
an act or instance of wishing.
a request or command: I was never forgiven for disregarding my father's wishes.
an expression of a wish, often one of a kindly or courteous nature: to send one's best wishes.
something wished or desired:He got his wish—a new car.
wish on,
to force or impose (usually used in the negative): I wouldn't wish that awful job on my worst enemy.
Also wish upon. to make a wish using some object as a magical talisman: to wish on a star.
Origin of wish
1Other words for wish
Other words from wish
- wisher, noun
- wishless, adjective
- in·ter·wish, verb (used with object), noun
- outwish, verb (used with object)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use wish in a sentence
Schreurs tells children to either make a wish for themselves or somebody in need after he hands out his coins, then asks them to tuck the coins away for safekeeping.
Maryland’s marathon-running Santa Claus with a cause is doing Zoom and outdoor visits this year | Cathy Free | December 11, 2020 | Washington PostOur thoughts and well wishes are with the official involved.
After one player’s assault of a referee, a Texas high school team wonders why it was sidelined | Glynn A. Hill | December 11, 2020 | Washington PostThrough the agency’s website, people and organizations can “adopt” children’s letters and then send responses and gifts to fulfill holiday wishes and assist Santa’s efforts.
‘End of Covid 19. New X Box’: Children plead for pandemic relief and gifts in letters to Santa | Hamza Shaban | December 10, 2020 | Washington PostYouTube had a few more on my wish list for that Open House weekend.
My trip to London was canceled, so I took it on YouTube instead | Nancy Nathan | December 10, 2020 | Washington PostIt may take time for Harden to get his wish, but movement defines the league now.
James Harden has confused player empowerment with self-sabotage | Jerry Brewer | December 10, 2020 | Washington Post
At least that's what one well-wisher who met Kate Middleton as she went walkabout today thinks.
She told one well-wisher who asked that her baby had been kicking "very much".
No well-wisher of India, no patriot dare look upon the impending destruction of the hand-loom weaver with equanimity.
Third class in Indian railways | Mahatma Gandhi"I come to you from a well-wisher," he went on in oily tones, without lifting his eyes.
The Empty House And Other Ghost Stories | Algernon BlackwoodFor is he not a well-wisher of the French Revolution, a Jacobin, and therefore in that one act guilty of all?
Life of Robert Burns | Thomas CarlyleI am a well wisher to the Company, and also to America; but death to an American is more desirable than slavery.
Tea Leaves | VariousHe was conscious of a willingness to consider it himself, as a friend of the family and a well-wisher of Chubbins.
Bunker Bean | Harry Leon Wilson
British Dictionary definitions for wish
/ (wɪʃ) /
(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
(tr) to feel or express a desire or hope concerning the future or fortune of: I wish you well
(tr) to desire or prefer to be as specified
(tr) to greet as specified; bid: he wished us good afternoon
(tr) formal to order politely: I wish you to come at three o'clock
the act of wishing; the expression of some desire or mental inclination: to make a wish
something desired or wished for: he got his wish
(usually plural) expressed hopes or desire, esp for someone's welfare, health, etc
(often plural) formal a polite order or request
Origin of wish
1- See also wish on
Derived forms of wish
- wisher, noun
- wishless, adjective
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with wish
In addition to the idiom beginning with wish
- wish on
also see:
- if wishes were horses
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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