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would
1[wood, wuhd]
auxiliary verb
a simple past tense and past participle of will.
(used to express the future in past sentences).
He said he would go tomorrow.
(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?
(used to express repeated or habitual action in the past).
We would visit Grandma every morning up at the farm.
(used to express an intention or inclination).
Nutritionists would have us all eat whole grains.
(used to express an uncertainty).
It would appear that he is guilty.
(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.
would have, (used with a past participle to express unfulfilled intention or preference).
I would have saved you some but Jimmy took it all.
verb (used with object)
(used to express a wish).
Would he were here!
would
2[wohld]
noun
weld.
would
/ wʊd, wəd /
verb
used as an auxiliary to form the past tense or subjunctive mood of will 1
used as an auxiliary to indicate willingness or desire in a polite manner
would you help me, please?
used as an auxiliary to describe a past action as being accustomed or habitual
every day we would go for walks
I wish
would that he were here
Confusables Note
51Թ History and Origins
Idioms and Phrases
Example Sentences
“She’d sing it in her own way to see if it fits, and she would say, ‘How does that sound, sonny?’
Obeng did not follow these orders and instead texted his supervisor that he would return for his next shift.
However, he demanded that the research funds that would have been granted to the plaintiffs be restored.
Hiring software developers in the UK would cost five or 10 times as much, he says.
It comes after the government seized control of the company from its Chinese-owner Jingye in April amid accusations it was planning to switch the blast furnaces off, which would have made them permanently unusable.
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Definitions 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.
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