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Should Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

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[ shood ]

/ ʃʊd /

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See synonyms for should on Thesaurus.com

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Definition of should

auxiliary verb

simple past tense of shall.

(used to express condition): Were he to arrive, I should be pleased.

must; ought (used to indicate duty, propriety, or expediency): You should not do that.

would (used to make a statement less direct or blunt): I should think you would apologize.

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Origin of should

Middle English sholde, Old English sc(e)olde; see shall

synonym study for should

3. See must1.

words often confused with should

Rules similar to those for choosing between shall and will have long been advanced for should and would, but again the rules have had little effect on usage. In most constructions, would is the auxiliary chosen regardless of the person of the subject: If our allies would support the move, we would abandon any claim to sovereignty. You would be surprised at the complexity of the directions.
Because the main function of should in modern American English is to express duty, necessity, etc. ( You should get your flu shot before winter comes ), its use for other purposes, as to form a subjunctive, can produce ambiguity, at least initially: I should get my flu shot if I were you. Furthermore, should seems an affectation to many Americans when used in certain constructions quite common in British English: Had I been informed, I should (American would ) have called immediately. I should (American would ) really prefer a different arrangement. As with shall and will, most educated native speakers of American English do not follow the textbook rule in making a choice between should and would. See also shall.

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH should

should , would (see confusables note at the current entry)

Words nearby should

shot to hell, shot tower, shottsuru, shot up, Shotwell, should, shoulder, shoulder bag, shoulder blade, shoulder board, shoulder girdle

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

Words related to should

allow, become, consider, enjoy, experience, feel, know, leave, need, permit, see, suffer, undergo, entertain, let, must, sustain, tolerate, will, fall on

How to use should in a sentence

  • Apparently, Shakespeare coined 1,700 words, from the frequently used (excitement) to the should-be-more frequently used (spewed).

    Biking With the Bard|Kara Cutruzzula|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

  • I never had to go through the should-I-stay-at-home conversation.

    The NYT’s Game of Thrones: How the Top Journalism Job Was Dangled at Guardian Editor|Lloyd Grove|May 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST

  • Most thought-provoking for me, however, in this should-have-been story is the moral at the end.

    Why Can't Our Politics Improve Like Our Medicine?|David Frum|February 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST

  • The problem is that Scott is unpopular—awkward, should-we-be-seen-with-him-in-public unpopular.

    10 GOP Endorsements That Still Matter in 2012’s Presidential Election|John Avlon|December 7, 2011|DAILY BEAST

  • Less obvious: To what degree can/should advanced countries act unilaterally without waiting for a grand global bargain?

    The Ridiculous Global-Warming Freakout|Tunku Varadarajan|November 16, 2010|DAILY BEAST

  • They have a model of the man-as-he-should-be to which they mold him, in spite of himself and without his knowledge.

    Folkways|William Graham Sumner

  • The type of the man-as-he-should-be varies by fashion, and this type exerts a great selection in the education of the young.

    Folkways|William Graham Sumner

  • In mediæval society there were strongly defined ideals of the man-as-he-should-be.

    Folkways|William Graham Sumner

  • Is the ideal of the man-as-he-should-be to be found, for us, in the "common man," or in the highest product of our culture?

    Folkways|William Graham Sumner

  • But do you not see that though the King should-300- favour us, yet Amneris's rage would be beyond all bounds?

    Operas Every Child Should Know|Mary Schell Hoke Bacon

British Dictionary definitions for should

should

/ (ʃʊd) /

verb

the past tense of shall : used as an auxiliary verb to indicate that an action is considered by the speaker to be obligatory (you should go) or to form the subjunctive mood with I or we (I should like to see you; if I should be late, go without me)See also shall

Word Origin for should

Old English sceold; see shall

usage for should

Should has, as its most common meaning in modern English, the sense ought as in I should go to the graduation, but I don't see how I can. However, the older sense of the subjunctive of shall is often used with I or we to indicate a more polite form than would: I should like to go, but I can't. In much speech and writing, should has been replaced by would in contexts of this kind, but it remains in formal English when a conditional subjunctive is used: should he choose to remain, he would be granted asylum

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with should

should

In addition to the idiom beginning with should

  • should have stood in bed, I

also see:

  • (should) get one's head examined

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Should Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

shəd,

ˈshu̇d 

past tense of shall

1

—used in auxiliary function to express condition

if he should leave his father, his father would die Genesis 44:22 (Revised Standard Version)

2

—used in auxiliary function to express obligation, propriety, or expediency

'tis commanded I should do so William Shakespearethis is as it should be H. L. Savageyou should brush your teeth after each meal

3

—used in auxiliary function to express futurity from a point of view in the past

realized that she should have to do most of her farm work before sunrise Ellen Glasgow

4

—used in auxiliary function to express what is probable or expected

with an early start, they should be here by noon

5

—used in auxiliary function to express a request in a polite manner or to soften direct statement

I should suggest that a guide … is the first essential L. D. Reddick

Synonyms

  • have (to)
  • must
  • need
  • ought (to)
  • shall

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web For example, as is the case in most banks, the chief risk officer (ideally also the head of an A. I. committee) should be actively involved in the investment decision processes and sign off on every A.I. project investment. Maxime Courtaux, Fortune, 2 Dec. 2022 When should parents start talking about online safety? Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 2 Dec. 2022 Ultimately, the judges said that the status of the documents as personal or presidential should not determine whether a special master is needed. Arkansas Online, 2 Dec. 2022 But company lawyers argued that Weisselberg was only intending to benefit himself with his tax-dodge scheme, not the Trump Organization, and that the company shouldn’t be blamed for his transgressions. Michael R. Sisak, Anchorage Daily News, 2 Dec. 2022 The Ohio 8th District Court of Appeals on Thursday ruled that former Cleveland police officer Alan Buford should regain his job and collect back pay, five years after the city fired him for violating its use-of-force policy during a fatal shooting. cleveland, 2 Dec. 2022 Henry didn’t fit the conventional view of what a running back should look like. Mark Inabinett | [email protected], al, 2 Dec. 2022 One challenge that researchers have faced is that a large share of the population doesn’t agree other options should even be provided. Josh Zumbrun, WSJ, 2 Dec. 2022 The 4-Ah batteries should last long enough (about 30 minutes) to clear a sidewalk or short driveway of 3- to 6-inch-deep snow. Bradley Ford, Popular Mechanics, 2 Dec. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'should.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English sholde, from Old English sceolde owed, was obliged to, ought to

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of should was before the 12th century

See more words from the same century

Dictionary Entries Near

should

shough

should

should've

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

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“Should. ” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/should. Accessed 11 Dec. 2022.

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Kids Definition

should

shəd 

(ˈ)shu̇d

past of shall

1

: ought to

you should study harder

they should be here soon

2

: happen to

if you should see them, say hello for me

3

—used to express what is probable or expected

they should be here by now

4

—used as a more polite or less assured form of shall

should I turn out the lights?

More from Merriam-Webster on

should

Nglish: Translation of should for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of should for Arabic Speakers

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How to spell the word Must. Synonyms for Must

  1. Letters
  2. Words starting with D
  3. must

Checking the text for errors

The correct spelling of the word must:

Cryptocurrency for walking!

Number of letters in a word: 6

The word consists of letters: L , O , L , F ​​ , E , H

Correct transliteration of the word: dolzhen

Writing with incorrect keyboard layout: ljk;ty

Spelling test

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How to write correctly? / Legislative Duma of the Tomsk Region

According to the materials of the site http://www. gramota.ru

Words and turns of business speech that do not require punctuation marks

The list contains words and expressions, the punctuation of which is often asked by visitors to the Help Bureau GRAMOTY.RU
It should be remembered that these words are usually not distinguished by punctuation marks:

literally similar to
more or less
(finally)
ultimately
in a pinch
at best
in any case
in general
mostly in particular
in some cases
first
otherwise
resulting
therefore 		in this case
at the same time
in general in this connection
in addition
at the same time
by all means
subsequently
still
mainly
often
exclusively
as a maximum
at least
meanwhile
just in case
in case of emergency 		if possible
at least
if possible still
practically
with (all) desire
with all (with) that
with case
while
approximately
equally
at most
at least
nevertheless
actually

What date should I put on the document?

The date of the document is the date of its signing, for the act - the date of the event, for the protocol - the date of the meeting, the decision.

When writing the date, Arabic numerals are used (a pair of digits for the day, a couple of digits for the month and four digits for the year), the separator is a dot:

  • 08/27/2007,
  • 09/01/2007.

An alphanumeric date is also possible: March 5, 1999, September 1, 2007

How to write, with or without a space: 1500; 150g. BC. / 1500, 150 BC e.?

Graphically, the presence of a space is a sign of a word. All abbreviations and figures should be separated: 2007, 2008-2014, from 2001 to 2008

Is it possible to write the date in the documents like this: 04/19/08?

The day of the month and the month are written in two pairs of Arabic numerals (separated by a dot), the year - in four Arabic numerals: 19.04.2008.

If the date is written in numbers (08/22/2007), is it appropriate to write “years” after 2007, and if appropriate, how to do it correctly?

If the date includes the day of the month (day), month and year, then different spellings are possible:

  • in digits: 22. 08.2007;
  • in words and numbers: August 22, 2007; August 22, 2007;
  • in words only: August twenty-second, two thousand and seven.

If the date is written in digits, the year word or abbreviation y is not required after the date.

How to write correctly: 2000-2002 or 2000-2002?

Accepted abbreviation of the word years - years.

Should be written: 2000-2002 Such an abbreviation is read as "two thousandth - two thousand two years."

Please note: there is a dash between the numbers, no spaces on either side.

When writing an application, is the “addressee” centered on the right edge or on the left, but on the right side of the sheet?

The attribute "addressee" is usually left-aligned, but always located on the right side of the sheet.

When to use extensions?

Accretion (letter case ending) is used in writing ordinal numbers: 10th class "B"; 11th grade student; 1st car from the center; 5th level of difficulty; take 2nd and 3rd places; in the early 90s, route 12.

Accretion is not used:

  • Recording cardinal numbers: dictionary in 4 volumes; work of 2 employees; a series of 12 exercises.
  • When recording calendar numbers: March 22, 2003, April 1, January 10.
  • If the number is indicated by a Roman numeral: II International Olympiad for schoolchildren in the Russian language; IX Congress, XXI century, Louis XIV.
  • In the numbers of volumes, chapters, pages, illustrations, tables, appendices, etc., if the generic word (volume, chapter) precedes the numeral: on p. 196, v. 5, in the table. 11, in app. 1 (but: on the 196th page, in the 5th volume, in the 11th table, in the 1st appendix).

How to apply extensions?

The increment of the case ending in ordinal numbers indicated by Arabic numerals can be one-letter or two-letter.

According to the established tradition, the accretion should be one-letter if the last letter of the numeral is preceded by a vowel sound: 5th day (fifth day), 25th anniversary (twenty-fifth anniversary), in the 32nd edition (in the thirty-second edition), in 14th row (in the fourteenth row).

Accretion must be two-letter if the last letter is preceded by a consonant: 5th day (fifth day), to the 25th student (to the twenty-fifth student), from the 32nd edition (from the thirty-second edition), from the 14th row (from the fourteenth row).

If two ordinal numbers follow in a row, separated by a comma or joined by a union, the case ending is increased for each of them: 1st, 2nd cars; 80s and 90s.

If more than two ordinal numbers follow in a row, separated by a comma, semicolon or connected by a union, then the case ending is increased only for the last numeral: 1, 2 and 3 cars, 70, 80, 90s.

If two ordinal numbers follow through a dash, then the case ending is increased:

a) only for the second numeral, if the case ending for both numerals is the same: 50-60s, in 80-90s;

b) for each numeral, if the case endings are different: in the 11th - 20th rows.

Source: Reference book of the editor and proofreader: Editorial and technical design of the publication / Comp. and general ed. A. E. Milchin. M., 1985.

How to place punctuation marks in the first sentence of the contract containing designations of the contracting parties?

The correct punctuation in this phrase is: State Enterprise "Communication", hereinafter referred to as the "Enterprise", represented by General Director Popovich Alexander Mikhailovich, acting on the basis of the Charter, on the one hand and a citizen of the Russian Federation Babkin Ivan Vasilyevich , hereinafter referred to as the "Employee", on the other hand, have entered into this agreement on the following...

do not require punctuation marks.

Do I need a comma after the words "Sincerely" at the end of a business letter?

It is customary to put a comma after the words "With respect", despite the fact that the spelling rules do not regulate this case.

For example, correct:
Sincerely,
Chief Accountant of LLC "Sea Landscape"
D.

Learn more