English Explanatory Dictionary

should

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. simple past of shall
verb
  1. Ought to; indicating opinion, advice, or instruction, about what is required or desirable.
  2. Used to issue an instruction (traditionally seen as carrying less force of authority than alternatives such as 'shall' or 'must').
  3. Used to give advice or opinion that an action is, or would have been, beneficial or desirable.
  4. With verbs such as 'see' or 'hear', usually in the second person, used to point out something remarkable in either a good or bad way.
  5. In questions, asks what is correct, proper, desirable, etc.
  6. Ought to; expressing expectation.
  7. Indicates that something is expected to have happened or to be the case now.
  8. Will be likely to (become or do something); indicates a degree of possibility or probability that the stated thing will happen or be true in the future.
  9. Used to form a variant of the present subjunctive, expressing a state or action that is hypothetical, potential, mandated, etc.
  10. An alternative to would with first person subjects.
  11. Used to express a conditional outcome.
  12. Used to impart a tentative, conjectural or polite nuance.
verb
  1. To suggest (that someone ought to do something, or that something ought to be the case) by, or as if by, using the word should.
noun
  1. Something that ought to be the case as opposed to already being the case.

Pronunciation

/ʃəd/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Pvanp7-should (unstressed).wav en-US should (unstressed).ogg /ʃʊd/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Pvanp7-should (stressed).wav LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-should.wav en-US should (stressed).ogg /ʃʉd/ /ʃʊ(l)d/ /ʃuːld/

Word forms

should shou'd shoulde shoulds shoulding shoulded

Etymology

From Middle English scholde, from Old English sċolde, first and third person preterite form of sċulan (“should,” “have to,” “to owe”), the ancestor of English shall. By surface analysis, shall + -ed. Cognate with German sollte, Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌿𐌻𐌳𐌰 (skulda), Swedish skulle. Related to Middle English shild and shildy. The loss of /l/ in this word is probably due to weak stress, as in would and could (though in the latter, the /l/ was due to the analogy of the former two).

Synonyms

ought were

Antonyms

shouldn't

Related words

shouldst should've shoulda one should be so lucky one should live so long precatory

Derived words

as who should say children should be seen and not heard he who sups with the devil should have a long spoon how should I know I should coco I should cocoa might should no one should be judge in his own case no one should be judge in his own cause one should never meet one's heroes or should I say people that live in glass houses should not throw stones people that live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones people who live in glass houses should not throw stones people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones proverbs should be sold in pairs proverbs should be writ in pairs proverbs should come in pairs proverbs should go in pairs should-cost should hope should on should see the other guy those who live in glass houses should not throw stones those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those doing it though I say it who should not though I say it who should not say it what should I do you shouldn't have you shouldn't talk you should talk zig when one should zag

Translations

Arabic: يَنْبَغِي أَنْ Arabic: مِنْ اَلْمَفْرُوض أَنْ Arabic: مِنْ اَلْمُفْتَرَض أَنْ Azerbaijani: gərək Azerbaijani: -məli Azerbaijani: -malı Belarusian: паві́нен Belarusian: паві́нна Belarusian: паві́нны Bengali: কথা Bengali: উচিত Bengali: যদি Catalan: deure Catalan: haver de Catalan: tenir de Chinese Cantonese: 應該 /应该 Chinese: 著 Chinese: 應該 /应该 Chinese Mandarin: 應該 /应该 Chinese Mandarin: 應當 /应当 Chinese Mandarin: 該 /该 Chinese Mandarin: 如果 Chinese Mandarin: 倘若 Cornish: y kodh dhe Cornish: y tegoodh dhe Cornish: y tal dhe Cornish: y talvia dhe Czech: měl by Danish: skulle Danish: burde Dutch: moeten Dutch: zou moeten Dutch: mochten Esperanto: devi Finnish: pitäisi French: Conditional form of devoir French: si German: sollen German: sollte German: müsste Ancient Greek: ὀφείλω Hebrew: צָרִיךְ Hebrew: כְּדַאי לְ־ Hindi: चाहिए Hungarian: -j Hungarian: kéne Hungarian: kellene Hungarian: ha …… -na/-ne Icelandic: eiga að Japanese: ...べきである Khmer: គួរ Korean: 해야 한다 Latin: oportet Latin: nefās est Latin: nōn licet Latin: dēbeō Lithuanian: turėti Macedonian: тре́ба Macedonian: ́ако Macedonian: до́колку Malay: patut Norwegian: burde Norwegian: skulle Old English: sċulan Persian: باید Polish: powinien Polish: powinna Polish: powinno Portuguese: dever Portuguese: se Portuguese: caso Romanian: ar trebui Russian: до́лжен Russian: обя́зан Russian: сле́дует Russian: е́сли Russian: е́жели Scots: shud Lower Sorbian: dejaś Spanish: Conditional form of deber Spanish: tener que Spanish: haber de Spanish: deber de Spanish: si Swedish: skola Swedish: bör Swedish: borde Swedish: om Swedish: skulle Thai: ควร
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