like to

Idioms

Also, liked to. Come close to, be on the point of. For example, We like to froze to death, or He liked to have never got away. This expression, now considered a colloquialism from the American South, dates from the early 1400s and was used several times by Shakespeare.

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.

“There’s still things that I believe need to happen to encourage investment at the scale that people would like to see,” Wirth said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026

"I would also like to express my thanks to local residents for the co-operation shown whilst we worked to bring the situation to a safe conclusion," he said.

From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026

I like to call it A to Z, Abigail Spanberger and Andy Beshear representing one end of the tent, all the way over to Zohran Mamdani at the other.

From Slate • Apr. 20, 2026

Businesses and residents in the area would like to see a bigger police presence, but there have been protests against that by people who are not from downtown, she said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2026

“I like the cold. I like to feel the fresh air on my face. It cools me. This place is rather overheated. I think it is a dreadful waste of money.”

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023