may
1(used to express possibility): It may rain.
(used to express opportunity or permission): You may enter.
(used to express contingency, especially in clauses indicating condition, concession, purpose, result, etc.): I may be wrong but I think you would be wise to go. Times may change but human nature stays the same.
(used to express wish or prayer): May you live to an old age.
Archaic. (used to express ability or power.)
Origin of may
1confusables note For may
- Compare might1.
Words that may be confused with may
Words Nearby may
Other definitions for may (2 of 3)
a maiden.
Origin of may
2Other definitions for May (3 of 3)
the fifth month of the year, containing 31 days.
the early part of one's life, especially the prime: a young woman in her May.
the festivities of May Day.
(lowercase)British. the hawthorn.
a female given name.
Cape, a cape at the SE tip of New Jersey, on Delaware Bay.
(lowercase) to gather flowers in the spring: when we were maying.
Origin of May
3Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use may in a sentence
Willie Nelson and Norah Jones may-December fireplace flirting.
The Most WTF Covers of ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside,’ Everyone’s Favorite Date-Rape Holiday Classic | Kevin Fallon | November 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTUnder the strain of that feeling, many single men through the ages have adopted a devil-may-care attitude.
Money and Guns: How We Escape Our Existential Dread | James Poulos | April 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTCan you imagine Walters, his executive-producing partner, post-may 16, lurking with him behind the cameras?
Jollity and gloom were contending for an empire,” wrote Nathaniel Hawthorne in his story “The may-Pole of Merry Mount.
Then will come mid-may, when Congress needs to raise the debt ceiling again.
His attitude was somewhat devil-may-care, his grip on life itself seemed slipping.
The Wave | Algernon BlackwoodIn certain moods he possessed that dash and devil-may-care air which pleases most women, providing the man is a cosmopolitan.
The Doctor of Pimlico | William Le QueuxI recollect your 'may-day in the morning'—cuss me, the best comick song I ever heard.
Memoirs of Mr. Charles J. Yellowplush | William Makepeace ThackerayOn dark cold windy days, during the may-fly season you will find the small fly a much better killer than the may-fly.
The Teesdale Angler | R Lakelandmay-be you expected to have a china bowl and pitcher in your room, and somebody to empty your slop.
The English Orphans | Mary Jane Holmes
British Dictionary definitions for may (1 of 5)
/ (meɪ) /
to indicate that permission is requested by or granted to someone: he may go to the park tomorrow if he behaves himself
(often foll by well) to indicate possibility: the rope may break; he may well be a spy
to indicate ability or capacity, esp in questions: may I help you?
to express a strong wish: long may she reign
to indicate result or purpose: used only in clauses introduced by that or so that: he writes so that the average reader may understand
another word for might 1
to express courtesy in a question: whose child may this little girl be?
be that as it may in spite of that: a sentence connector conceding the possible truth of a previous statement and introducing an adversative clause: be that as it may, I still think he should come
come what may whatever happens
that's as may be (foll by a clause introduced by but) that may be so
Origin of may
1usage For may
British Dictionary definitions for may (2 of 5)
/ (meɪ) /
an archaic word for maiden
Origin of may
2British Dictionary definitions for may (3 of 5)
/ (meɪ) /
Also: may tree a Brit name for hawthorn
short for may blossom
Origin of may
3British Dictionary definitions for May (4 of 5)
/ (meɪ) /
the fifth month of the year, consisting of 31 days
Origin of May
4British Dictionary definitions for May (5 of 5)
/ (meɪ) /
Robert McCredie, Baron. born 1936, Australian biologist and ecologist
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with may
see be that as it may; come what may; let the chips fall where they may; to whom it may concern.
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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