Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

would

/wəd/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 6.27 in modern English

Syllables: would
IPA: /wəd/

9

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

1

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.

verb

Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.

verb

Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.

verb

Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.

Archaic

verb

Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.

Archaic

verb

Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.

Obsolete

verb

A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.

verb

A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.

Example Sentences

"On my first day at University, I met the woman who would become my wife."
"Hi! I thought I'd come over and introduce myself. My name’s Chema."
"I'm really flattered you would call your daughter after me."
"They thought anything Elvis did would sell, but that was not true."
"That her Lily should have been won and not worn, had been, and would be, a trouble to her for ever."
"Thanks to that penny he had just spent so recklessly [on a newspaper] he would pass a happy hour, taken, for once, out of his anxious, despondent, miserable self. It irritated him shrewdly to know that these moments of respite from carking care would not be shared with his poor wife, with careworn, troubled Ellen."

Etymology

From Old English wolde, past tense of willan, predecessor of will. The loss of /l/ in this word is probably due to weak stress, as in should and could (though in the latter, the /l/ was due to the analogy of the former two).

Origin

Source language: Old English

Word Breakdown

Root: wolde

Usage

Inflected Forms

wou'd (alternative, obsolete) woulds (plural)

Phrases

as fate would have it as luck would have it be it what it would butter would not melt in someone's mouth chance would be a fine thing claret would be port if it could do unto others as you would have them do unto you Eddie would go

Frequently Paired Words

will wouldn't wouldst would like would've could should

Synonyms

used to be so good as to kindly please

Homonyms

wood

Rhymes With

good could should wood understood stood hood misunderstood goode withstood fulwood schuld

Questions

How do you pronounce would?: The recorded pronunciation is /wəd/.
What does would mean?: Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
Where does would come from?: It is traced to Old English.

How to pronounce would

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “would”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/wəd/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “would”.
Repeat and practice — Say “would” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.