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must

 - 19 dictionary results

must

1  [muhst]
Use must in a Sentence
–auxiliary verb
1. to be obliged or bound to by an imperative requirement: I must keep my word.
2. to be under the necessity to; need to: Animals must eat to live.
3. to be required or compelled to, as by the use or threat of force: You must obey the law.
4. to be compelled to in order to fulfill some need or achieve an aim: We must hurry if we're to arrive on time.
5. to be forced to, as by convention or the requirements of honesty: I must say, that is a lovely hat.
6. to be or feel urged to; ought to: I must buy that book.
7. to be reasonably expected to; is bound to: It must have stopped raining by now. She must be at least 60.
8. to be inevitably certain to; be compelled by nature: Everyone must die.
–verb (used without object)
9. to be obliged; be compelled: Do I have to go? I must, I suppose.
10. Archaic. (sometimes used with ellipsis of go, get, or some similar verb readily understood from the context): We must away.
–adjective
11. necessary; vital: A raincoat is must clothing in this area.
–noun
12. something necessary, vital, or required: This law is a must.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME most(e), OE mōste (past tense); c. G musste. See mote 2

Synonyms:
1. Must, ought, should express necessity or duty. Must expresses necessity or compulsion: I must attend to those patients first. Soldiers must obey orders. Ought (weaker than must) expresses obligation, duty, desirability: You ought to tell your mother. Should expresses obligation, expectation, or probability: You are not behaving as you should. Children should be taught to speak the truth. They should arrive at one o'clock.

must

2  [muhst]
–noun
new wine; the unfermented juice as pressed from the grape or other fruit.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME, OE < L mustum, short for vīnum mustum new wine

must

3  [muhst]
–noun
mold; moldiness; mustiness: a castle harboring the must of centuries.
Origin:
1595–1605; back formation from musty 1

must

4  [muhst]
–noun
musth.

must

5  [muhst] Obsolete
–noun
1. musk, esp. a powder made from musk.
–verb (used with object)
2. to powder (the hair).
Origin:
1480–90; earlier moist < MF must, var. of musc musk

musth

  [muhst]
–noun
a state or condition of violent, destructive frenzy occurring with the rutting season in male elephants, accompanied by the exudation of an oily substance from glands between the eyes and mouth.
Also, must.

Origin:
1870–75; < Urdu mast < Pers: lit., drunk
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To must
must 1   (mŭst)   
v.  
v.   aux.

  1. To be obliged or required by morality, law, or custom: Citizens must register in order to vote.

  2. To be compelled, as by a physical necessity or requirement: Plants must have oxygen in order to live.

  3. Used to express a command or admonition: You must not go there alone. You simply must be careful.

  4. To be determined to; have as a fixed resolve: If you must leave, do it quietly.

    1. Used to indicate inevitability or certainty: We all must die.

    2. Used to indicate logical probability or presumptive certainty: If the lights were on, they must have been at home.

v.   intr. Archaic
To be required or obliged to go: "I must from hence" (Shakespeare).
n.  Something that is absolutely required or indispensable: Promptness on the job is a must. Comfortable boots are a must when going on a hike.

[Middle English moste, from Old English mōste, past tense of mōtan, to be allowed; see med- in Indo-European roots.]
must 2   (mŭst)   
n.  The quality or condition of being stale or musty.

[Probably back-formation from musty.]
must 3   (mŭst)   
n.  The unfermented or fermenting juice expressed from fruit, especially grapes.

[Middle English, from Old English, from Latin mustum, from neuter of mustus, new, fresh.]
must 4   (mŭst)   
n.  Variant of musth.
must 5   (mŭst)   
n.  Musk.

[Scottish, from Old French, variant of musc; see musk.]
musth also must   (mŭst)   
n.  An annual period of heightened aggressiveness and sexual activity in male elephants, during which violent frenzies occur.

[Urdu mast, from Persian, drunk, from Middle Persian.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
must (do)

and must
  1. n.
    something that someone ought to do. : Seeing the Eiffel tower is a must do in Paris. , Tell me some of the “musts” in southern Utah.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

must  (v.)
O.E. moste, pt. of motan "have to, be able to," from P.Gmc. *motanan "to fix, allot, appoint, to have room, to be able" (cf. O.Fris. mota, M.L.G. moten, Du. moeten, Ger. müssen "to be obliged to," Goth. gamotan "to have room to, to be able to"), from PIE base *med- "to measure." Used as present tense from c.1300, from the custom of using past subjunctive as a moderate or polite form of the present. The noun meaning "something that has to be seen or experienced" is from 1892.

must  (n1.)
"new wine," O.E. must, from L. mustum, short for vinum mustum "fresh wine," neut. of mustus "fresh, new."

must  (n2.)
"mold," 1602, perhaps a back-formation of musty (q.v.).

must  (n3.)
"male elephant frenzy," 1871, from Urdu mast "intoxicated, in rut," from Pers. mast, lit. "intoxicated," related to Skt. matta- "drunk, intoxicated," pp. of madati "boils, bubbles, gets drunk," from PIE base *mad- "wet, to drip."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: must
Pronunciation: 'm&st
Function: noun
: the expressed juice of fruit and especially grapes before and during fermentation
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Idioms & Phrases

must

see a must; show must go on.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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