Adjacent Words

Should definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SHOULD. shood. The preterit of shall, but now used as an auxiliary verb, either in the past time or conditional present. "He should have paid the debt at the time the note became due." Should here denotes past time. "I should ride to town this day if the weather would permit." Here should expresses present or future time conditionally. In the second and third persons, it denotes obligation or duty, as in the first example above.
1. I should go. When should in this person is uttered without emphasis, it declares simply that an event would take place, on some condition or under circumstances.
But when expressed with emphasis, should in this person denotes obligation, duty or determination.
2. Thou shouldst go.
You should Without emphasis, should, in the second person, is nearly equivalent to ought; you ought to go, it is your duty, you are bound to go. [See Shall.]
With emphasis, should expresses determination in the speaker conditionally to compel the person to act. "If I had the care of you, you should go, whether willing or not."
3. He should go. should, in the third person, has the same force as in the second.
4. If I should, if you should, if he should, etc. denote a figure contingent event.
5. After should, the principal verb is sometimes omitted, without obscuring the sense.
So subjects love just kings, or so they should. Dryden.
That is, so they should love them.
6. should be, ought to be; a proverbial phrase, conveying some censure, contempt or irony. Things are not as they should be.
The boys think their mother no better than they should be. Addison.
7. " We think it strange that stones should fall from the aerial regions." In this use, should implies that stones do fall. In all similar phrases, should implies the actual existence of the fact, without a condition of supposition.

Merriam Webster's

verbal auxiliary, past of shall Etymology: Middle English sholde, from Old English sceolde owed, was obliged to, ought to Date: before 12th century 1. — used in auxiliary function to express condition <if he should leave his father, his father would die — Genesis
44:22 (Revised Standard Version)> 2. — used in auxiliary function to express obligation, propriety, or expediency <'tis commanded I should do so — Shakespeare> <this is as it should be — H. L. Savage> <you should brush your teeth after each meal> 3. — used in auxiliary function to express futurity from a point of view in the past <realized that she should have to do most of her farm work before sunrise — Ellen Glasgow> 4. — used in auxiliary function to express what is probable or expected <with an early start, they should be here by noon> 5. — used in auxiliary function to express a request in a polite manner or to soften direct statement <I should suggest that a guide…is the first essential — L. D. Reddick>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.aux. (3rd sing. should) past of SHALL, used esp.: 1 in reported speech, esp. with the reported element in the 1st person (I said I should be home by evening). Usage: Cf. WILL(1), WOULD, now more common in this sense, esp. to avoid implications of sense 2. 2 a to express a duty, obligation, or likelihood; = OUGHT(1) (I should tell you; you should have been more careful; they should have arrived by now). b (in the 1st person) to express a tentative suggestion (I should like to say something). 3 a expressing the conditional mood in the 1st person (cf. WOULD) (I should have been killed if I had gone). b forming a conditional protasis or indefinite clause (if you should see him; should they arrive, tell them where to go). 4 expressing purpose = MAY, MIGHT(1) (in order that we should not worry).

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Shall Shall, v. i. & auxiliary. [imp. Should.] [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen, pres. zal, imp. zoude, zou, OHG. solan, scolan, pres. scal, sol. imp. scolta, solta, G. sollen, pres. soll, imp. sollte, Icel. skulu, pres. skal, imp. skyldi, SW. skola, pres. skall, imp. skulle, Dan. skulle, pres. skal, imp. skulde, Goth. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skulda, and to AS. scyld guilt, G. schuld guilt, fault, debt, and perhaps to L. scelus crime.] Note: [Shall is defective, having no infinitive, imperative, or participle.] 1. To owe; to be under obligation for. [Obs.] ``By the faith I shall to God'' --Court of Love. 2. To be obliged; must. [Obs.] ``Me athinketh [I am sorry] that I shall rehearse it her.'' --Chaucer. 3. As an auxiliary, shall indicates a duty or necessity whose obligation is derived from the person speaking; as, you shall go; he shall go; that is, I order or promise your going. It thus ordinarily expresses, in the second and third persons, a command, a threat, or a promise. If the auxillary be emphasized, the command is made more imperative, the promise or that more positive and sure. It is also employed in the language of prophecy; as, ``the day shall come when . . ., '' since a promise or threat and an authoritative prophecy nearly coincide in significance. In shall with the first person, the necessity of the action is sometimes implied as residing elsewhere than in the speaker; as, I shall suffer; we shall see; and there is always a less distinct and positive assertion of his volition than is indicated by will. ``I shall go'' implies nearly a simple futurity; more exactly, a foretelling or an expectation of my going, in which, naturally enough, a certain degree of plan or intention may be included; emphasize the shall, and the event is described as certain to occur, and the expression approximates in meaning to our emphatic ``I will go.'' In a question, the relation of speaker and source of obligation is of course transferred to the person addressed; as, ``Shall you go?'' (answer, ``I shall go''); ``Shall he go?'' i. e., ``Do you require or promise his going?'' (answer, ``He shall go''.) The same relation is transferred to either second or third person in such phrases as ``You say, or think, you shall go;'' ``He says, or thinks, he shall go.'' After a conditional conjunction (as if, whether) shall is used in all persons to express futurity simply; as, if I, you, or he shall say they are right. Should is everywhere used in the same connection and the same senses as shall, as its imperfect. It also expresses duty or moral obligation; as, he should do it whether he will or not. In the early English, and hence in our English Bible, shall is the auxiliary mainly used, in all the persons, to express simple futurity. (Cf. Will, v. t.) Shall may be used elliptically; thus, with an adverb or other word expressive of motion go may be omitted. ``He to England shall along with you.'' --Shak. Note: Shall and will are often confounded by inaccurate speakers and writers. Say: I shall be glad to see you. Shall I do this? Shall I help you? (not Will I do this?) See Will.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Should Should, imp. of Shall. [OE. sholde, shulde, scholde, schulde, AS. scolde, sceolde. See Shall.] Used as an auxiliary verb, to express a conditional or contingent act or state, or as a supposition of an actual fact; also, to express moral obligation (see Shall); e. g.: they should have come last week; if I should go; I should think you could go. ``You have done that you should be sorry for.'' --Shak. Syn: See Ought.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. Note: 'Should' is a modal verb. It is used with the base form of a verb. 1. You use should when you are saying what would be the right thing to do or the right state for something to be in. I should exercise more... The diet should be maintained unchanged for about a year... He's never going to be able to forget it. And I don't think he should... Sometimes I am not as brave as I should be... Should our children be taught to swim at school? MODAL 2. You use should to give someone an order to do something, or to report an official order. All visitors should register with the British Embassy... The European Commission ruled that British Aerospace should pay back tens of millions of pounds. MODAL 3. If you say that something should have happened, you mean that it did not happen, but that you wish it had. If you say that something should not have happened, you mean that it did happen, but that you wish it had not. I should have gone this morning but I was feeling a bit ill... You should have written to the area manager again... I shouldn't have said what I did. MODAL 4. You use should when you are saying that something is probably the case or will probably happen in the way you are describing. If you say that something should have happened by a particular time, you mean that it will probably have happened by that time. You should have no problem with reading this language... The doctor said it will take six weeks and I should be fine by then... MODAL 5. You use should in questions when you are asking someone for advice, permission, or information. Should I or shouldn't I go to university?... Please could you advise me what I should do?... Should I go back to the motel and wait for you to telephone?... MODAL 6. You say 'I should', usually with the expression 'if I were you', when you are giving someone advice by telling them what you would do if you were in their position. (FORMAL) I should look out if I were you! MODAL 7. You use should in conditional clauses when you are talking about things that might happen. (FORMAL) If you should be fired, your health and pension benefits will not be automatically cut off... Should you buy a home from Lovell, the company promises to buy it back at the same price after three years... MODAL 8. You use should in 'that' clauses after certain verbs, nouns, and adjectives when you are talking about a future event or situation. He raised his glass and indicated that I should do the same... My father was very keen that I should fulfill my potential... MODAL 9. You use should in expressions such as I should think and I should imagine to indicate that you think something is true but you are not sure. I should think it's going to rain soon... MODAL [vagueness] 10. You use should in expressions such as I should like and I should be happy to show politeness when you are saying what you want to do, or when you are requesting, offering, or accepting something. I should be happy if you would bring them this evening... MODAL [politeness] 11. You use should in expressions such as You should have seen us and You should have heard him to emphasize how funny, shocking, or impressive something that you experienced was. (SPOKEN) You should have heard him last night! MODAL [emphasis]

Moby Thesaurus

be expedient, be forced, be in for, be necessary, be obliged, cannot do otherwise, cannot help but, had best, had better, have got to, have need to, have to, must, need, need to, needs must, ought, ought to