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

It shouldn’t be much longer now, he tells her.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

"I still think that it should just be equal, for people that are on benefits and people that are in work, they shouldn't be treated any differently."

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

“I think the Legislature shouldn’t take this sitting down. I think the governor should act on this,” Harrison said.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026

"I think that's the dangerous part there," Dale says, "the belief of what men should and what men shouldn't do."

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

Others shouldn’t be punished for the prince’s actions.

From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows

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