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should
[ shood ]
auxiliary verb
- must; ought (used to indicate duty, propriety, or expediency):
You should not do that.
All of this is irresponsible alarmism and should be dismissed as such.
- (used to express an expectation):
They should arrive around dinner time.
The paper you need should be in the drawer.
- (used to express a correction):
In your first sentence, that semicolon should be a comma.
- (used to express a potential future event or condition):
Were he to arrive, I should be pleased.
- would (used to make a statement less direct or blunt):
I should think you would apologize.
- simple past tense of shall.
noun
- a demand or requirement; something a person must or ought to do:
Placing too many shoulds or unrealistic expectations on yourself can contribute to stress.
It’s hard to find joy anymore with all these oughts and shoulds.
should
/ ʃʊd /
verb
- the past tense of shall : used as an auxiliary verb to indicate that an action is considered by the speaker to be obligatory ( you should go ) or to form the subjunctive mood with I or we ( I should like to see you; if I should be late, go without me ) See also shall
Usage
Confusables Note
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of should1
Idioms and Phrases
In addition to the idiom beginning with should , also see (should) get one's head examined .Synonym Study
Example Sentences
Swinney also said former health secretary Michael Matheson should be allowed to “get on with the rest of his life” after it was reported he had put his name forward.
In other words, customers should be clearly told how much commission would be paid, and agree to it, without those details being buried in the terms and conditions of the loan.
Since January, it has been considering whether compensation should be paid to people with these deals before 2021.
However, lawyers say this could further delay compensation which should be paid to car buyers who may not have given their informed consent for the commission payments.
"No one should be compelled, for example, to take part in assisted dying if they've got moral or ethical objections as clinicians. That certainly would be one of my red lines".
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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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