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must
1[ muhst ]
auxiliary verb
- to be obliged or bound to by an imperative requirement:
I must keep my word.
- to be under the necessity to; need to:
Animals must eat to live.
- to be required or compelled to, as by the use or threat of force:
You must obey the law.
- to be compelled to in order to fulfill some need or achieve an aim:
We must hurry if we're to arrive on time.
- to be forced to, as by convention or the requirements of honesty:
I must say, that is a lovely hat.
- to be or feel urged to; ought to:
I must buy that book.
- to be reasonably expected to; is bound to:
It must have stopped raining by now. She must be at least 60.
- to be inevitably certain to; be compelled by nature:
Everyone must die.
verb (used without object)
- to be obliged; be compelled:
Do I have to go? I must, I suppose.
- Archaic. (sometimes used with ellipsis of go, get, or some similar verb readily understood from the context):
We must away.
noun
- something necessary, vital, or required:
This law is a must.
must
2[ muhst ]
noun
- new wine; the unfermented juice as pressed from the grape or other fruit.
must
3[ muhst ]
noun
- mold; moldiness; mustiness:
a castle harboring the must of centuries.
must
4[ muhst ]
noun
- musk, especially a powder made from musk.
verb (used with object)
- to powder (the hair).
must
1/ mʌst /
must
2/ məst; mʌst; məs /
verb
- used as an auxiliary to express obligation or compulsion: you must pay your dues . In this sense, must does not form a negative. If used with a negative infinitive it indicates obligatory prohibition
- used as an auxiliary to indicate necessity
I must go to the bank tomorrow
- used as an auxiliary to indicate the probable correctness of a statement
he must be there by now
- used as an auxiliary to indicate inevitability
all good things must come to an end
- used as an auxiliary to express resolution
- on the part of the speaker when used with I or we
I must finish this
- on the part of another or others as imputed to them by the speaker, when used with you, he, she, they, etc
let him get drunk if he must
- used emphatically used as an auxiliary to express conviction or certainty on the part of the speaker
you must be joking
he must have reached the town by now, surely
- foll by away used with an implied verb of motion to express compelling haste
I must away
noun
- an essential or necessary thing
strong shoes are a must for hill walking
must
3/ mʌst /
noun
- mustiness or mould
must
4/ mʌst /
noun
- the newly pressed juice of grapes or other fruit ready for fermentation
must-
5combining_form
- indicating that something is highly recommended or desirable
a must-see film
this season's must-haves
Word History and Origins
Origin of must1
Origin of must2
Word History and Origins
Origin of must1
Origin of must2
Origin of must3
Idioms and Phrases
see a must ; show must go on .Synonym Study
Example Sentences
Israeli forces are required to be west of the so-called Alpha Line, while Syrian forces must be east of the Bravo Line, which runs along the other side of the AoS.
He said the book The War on Warrior "reveals the leftwing betrayal of our warriors, and how we must return our military to meritocracy, lethality, accountability, and excellence".
To have the standing to bring a federal case, the court ruled, a plaintiff must show that they have suffered a “concrete harm” stemming from the violation.
The company must also grapple with concerns about children’s screen time.
Schools must decide on their storage method before winter break in December.
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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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