Showing results for "would"

• past tense form of will.
• past participle of will.

would

¹ American  

[wood, wuhd] / wʊd, wəd /

auxiliary verb

1. a simple past tense and past participle of will.

2. (used to express the future in past sentences).

   He said he would go tomorrow.

3. (used in place of will, to make a statement or form a question less direct or blunt).

   That would scarcely be fair. Would you be so kind?

4. (used to express repeated or habitual action in the past).

   We would visit Grandma every morning up at the farm.

5. (used to express an intention or inclination).

   Nutritionists would have us all eat whole grains.

6. (used to express an uncertainty).

   It would appear that he is guilty.

7. (used in conditional sentences to express choice or possibility).

   They would come if they had the fare. If the temperature were higher, the water would evaporate.

8. would have, (used with a past participle to express unfulfilled intention or preference).

   I would have saved you some but Jimmy took it all.

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verb (used with object)

1. (used to express a wish).

   Would he were here!

idioms

1. would like, (used to express desire).

   I would like to go next year.

2. would rather. rather.

would ² American  

[wohld] / woʊld /

noun

1. weld.

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would British  

/ wʊd, wəd /

verb

1. used as an auxiliary to form the past tense or subjunctive mood of will 1

2. used as an auxiliary to indicate willingness or desire in a polite manner

   would you help me, please?

3. used as an auxiliary to describe a past action as being accustomed or habitual

   every day we would go for walks

4. I wish

   would that he were here

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would More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing would

• as luck would have it
• fly on the wall, would like to be a
• wouldn't

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Commonly Confused

See should.

Etymology

Origin of would

First recorded before 900; Middle English would, wald(e), wold(e), wuld(e), Old English wolde, walde; see origin at will ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

would

The complaint said Alfozan queried a productivity tool to ask about meeting rooms where company leadership met and where external company partners would meet.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

“Ope! Was hoping to make a Costco run,” some dad would inevitably reply.

From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026

In research I conducted with Francis Flynn, a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, people asking for help tended to think that indirect requests would work just as well as direct ones.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

The new approach instead separates information from different regions, allowing researchers to identify atmospheric variations that would otherwise be concealed.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

Together, they built their own cottage and waited to see what the rest of their lives would bring.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

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