shouldn't
Americancontraction
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.
Beverly Hills is heavily Jewish, and the board is entirely so, but many residents argued public schools shouldn’t display another country’s flag, and worried it would favor one group over another.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
Something happened in 2018 that changed the landscape in California, and gave Inglewood an argument for why it shouldn’t be required to reimburse the developer for nearly half a billion dollars in public improvements.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
"It is an important proof of principle for the field, although we shouldn't get ahead of the evidence," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
“It’s almost like when you’re a kid, and you know you’re getting away with doing something bad — you shouldn’t be watching this, but it feels so good.”
From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2026
“Jonah, if you’d really thought there was an intruder, you shouldn’t have come rushing up here, putting yourself in danger. You should have called the police,” he said.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
