maybe

[ mey-bee ]

/ ˈmeɪ bi /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR maybe ON THESAURUS.COM

adverb

perhaps; possibly: Maybe I'll go too.

noun

a possibility or uncertainty.

Nearby words

mayagüez, mayakovski, mayakovsky, vladimir vladimirovich, mayan, mayas, maybe, maybeck, maybeck, bernard, maybird, mayday, mayence

Origin of maybe

1375–1425; late Middle English may be, short for it may be

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for maybe

“Our first few months we had maybe one client and then we went on The Tyra Banks Show,” says James.
Career-Minded Women Turn to Male Escorts For No-Strings Fun and (Maybe) Sex|Aurora Snow|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Except for maybe his brainiac wife… but she could do better anyway.
All Your Internet Boyfriends Are Taken: Gosling, Cumberbatch, and now Joseph Gordon-Levitt|Melissa Leon|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But maybe you have to start somewhere else — with Lamont Waltman Marvin, Monty, his father, the Chief, the old man.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Who knew that “we shall overcome” meant “we, the few, shall book covers every decade or so, maybe, sometimes, if we are in style.”
One Vogue Cover Doesn’t Solve Fashion’s Big Race Problem|Danielle Belton|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Go for a hole in one, or maybe try to only use huge arcs to get it in.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art|Alec Kubas-Meyer|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Maybe we'll have to relay him some instrument checks, to keep him busy.
Suzy|Watson Parker
Wait until I get my degree, and the law cases come pouring in on me, with big fees—say, maybe I could give your dad some points!
For the Honor of Randall|Lester Chadwick
It's all luck about Nanny's eyes; and maybe you are only throwing away a chance you'll never have again.'
Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag|Louisa M. Alcott
Maybe to-morrow, after he had had a good nights sleep, he could better bear meeting and answering them.
Rejected of Men|Howard Pyle
On the heels of it—maybe you'll see why—I began to grin to myself.
Rewards and Fairies|Rudyard Kipling

British Dictionary definitions for maybe

maybe

/ (ˈmeɪˌbiː) /

adverb

perhaps
(as sentence modifier)maybe I'll come tomorrow

sentence substitute

possibly; neither yes nor no

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 maybe

maybe

adv.

early 15c., from (it) may be; see may (v.1) + be (v.). Still sometimes written as two words early 19c.

maybe

adverb

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of maybe

Examples from the Web for maybe

British Dictionary definitions for maybe

maybe

adverb

sentence substitute

Word Origin and History for maybe

maybe