have to

Idioms  

1. Also, have got to. Be obliged to, must. For example, We have to go now, or He has got to finish the paper today. The use of have as an auxiliary verb to indicate obligation goes back to the 16th century; the variant using got dates from the mid-1800s.

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Example Sentences

"The seaweed grows around big rocks -- when there are big waves, you have to move aside quickly," she said.

From Barron's • Jun. 30, 2026

“I still have to figure that out for myself.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 30, 2026

Luis Espinola, a 61-year-old hotel employee, put it this way: "With Paraguay you have to suffer until the last minute."

From Barron's • Jun. 30, 2026

"There is no 'not making mistakes' because nobody is perfect, but you have to overcome them and push forward. That's what the team did."

From BBC • Jun. 29, 2026

“Okay, who’s the kid? Do you know him? We have to stop him from knocking on the door,” she says, panicking.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold