shouldn't

American

[shood-nt] / ˈʃʊd nt /

contraction of should not.

shouldn't British

/ ˈʃʊdənt /

contraction

should not

"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

Usage

See contraction, ought ¹.

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.

See Examples For:

shouldn't

"Our study suggests there may be different biological pathways between long and short sleepers that lead to the same outcome, late-life depression, and we shouldn't treat them the same way."

From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t trust me,” he remembers thinking.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

But if the past is any indication, it shouldn’t be long.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026

But I also believe parents shouldn’t give their estranged children the power to negatively control their emotions or lives.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026

No, she decides, she shouldn’t suddenly silence herself.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

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