should

CEFRA1

/ʃəd/

verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    Used to say what is advisable, expected, or likely.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    Ought to; indicating opinion, advice, or instruction, about what is required or desirable., Used to issue an instruction (traditionally seen as carrying less force of authority than alternatives such as 'shall' or 'must').

Examples

  • The state spends taxpayers’ money and should be held accountable.

  • Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

At a glance

Sits at A1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
2

Also pronounced

  • /ʃuːld/
  • /ʃʊ(l)d/

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  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. 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.

More examples

In context

  • You should have listened to me.

  • I told him that I should be busy tomorrow.

  • The law is clear that you should always wear a seat belt.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

It is essential that you blank check your email every morning for updates.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

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).