may

1
[ mey ]
See synonyms for may on Thesaurus.com
auxiliary verb,present singular 1st person may,2nd may or (Archaic) may·est or mayst,3rd may;present plural may;past might.
  1. (used to express possibility): It may rain.

  2. (used to express opportunity or permission): You may enter.

  1. (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.

  2. (used to express wish or prayer): May you live to an old age.

  3. Archaic. (used to express ability or power.)

Origin of may

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English mai, 1st and 3rd person singular present indicative of mouen “to be able, be strong,” Old English mæg (infinitive magan ); cognate with German mögen

confusables note For may

See can1.

Words that may be confused with may

  • 1. can, may (see confusables note at can)
  • 2. may , might

Words Nearby may

Other definitions for may (2 of 3)

may2
[ mey ]

nounArchaic.
  1. a maiden.

Origin of may

2
First recorded before 900; Middle English mai; Old English mæg

Other definitions for May (3 of 3)

May
[ mey ]

noun
  1. the fifth month of the year, containing 31 days.

  2. the early part of one's life, especially the prime: a young woman in her May.

  1. the festivities of May Day.

  2. (lowercase)British. the hawthorn.

  3. a female given name.

  4. Cape, a cape at the SE tip of New Jersey, on Delaware Bay.

verb (used without object)
  1. (lowercase) to gather flowers in the spring: when we were maying.

Origin of May

3
First recorded before 1050; Middle English, Old English Maius, from Latin, short for Maius mēnsis “Maia's month”; see Maia

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use may in a sentence

  • His attitude was somewhat devil-may-care, his grip on life itself seemed slipping.

    The Wave | Algernon Blackwood
  • In 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 Queux
  • I recollect your 'may-day in the morning'—cuss me, the best comick song I ever heard.

    Memoirs of Mr. Charles J. Yellowplush | William Makepeace Thackeray
  • On 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 Lakeland
  • may-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)

may1

/ (meɪ) /


verbpast might (takes an infinitive without to or an implied infinitive used as an auxiliary)
  1. to indicate that permission is requested by or granted to someone: he may go to the park tomorrow if he behaves himself

  2. (often foll by well) to indicate possibility: the rope may break; he may well be a spy

  1. to indicate ability or capacity, esp in questions: may I help you?

  2. to express a strong wish: long may she reign

  3. to indicate result or purpose: used only in clauses introduced by that or so that: he writes so that the average reader may understand

  4. another word for might 1

  5. to express courtesy in a question: whose child may this little girl be?

  6. 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

  7. come what may whatever happens

  8. that's as may be (foll by a clause introduced by but) that may be so

Origin of may

1
Old English mæg, from magan: compare Old High German mag, Old Norse

usage For may

It was formerly considered correct to use may rather than can when referring to permission as in: you may use the laboratory for your experiments, but this use of may is now almost entirely restricted to polite questions such as: may I open the window? The use of may with if in constructions such as: your analysis may have been more more credible if … is generally regarded as incorrect, might being preferred: your analysis might have been more credible if

British Dictionary definitions for may (2 of 5)

may2

/ (meɪ) /


noun
  1. an archaic word for maiden

Origin of may

2
Old English mæg; related to Old High German māg kinsman, Old Norse māgr a relative by marriage

British Dictionary definitions for may (3 of 5)

may3

/ (meɪ) /


noun
  1. Also: may tree a Brit name for hawthorn

  2. short for may blossom

Origin of may

3
C16: from the month of May, when it flowers

British Dictionary definitions for May (4 of 5)

May1

/ (meɪ) /


noun
  1. the fifth month of the year, consisting of 31 days

Origin of May

4
from Old French, from Latin Maius, probably from Maia, Roman goddess, identified with the Greek goddess Maia

British Dictionary definitions for May (5 of 5)

May2

/ (meɪ) /


noun
  1. 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

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.