must
Forms
- present (v1)
- must
- past (v2)
- must
- past participle (v3)
- musted
- present participle
- musting
- 3rd person singular
- must
- Plural
- musts
Definitions
1.To do as a requirement; indicates that the sentence subject is required as an imperative or directive to execute the sentence predicate, with failure to do so resulting in a failure or negative consequence.
- You must arrive in class on time.
- This door handle must be rotated fully.
- The physician said that I must / had to / would have to stop smoking.
2.To do with certainty; indicates that the speaker is certain that the subject will have executed the predicate.
- I said it must be pretty late and I really must go.
- If it has rained all day, it must be very wet outside.
- She's being taken to the police car now , so they must be going to arrest her.
3.Used to indicate that something is very likely, probable, or certain to be true.
- The children must be asleep by now.
- There's the doorbell. It must be Dad.
4.To make musty.
- There is something I must know.
- There is something you must know.
- You must not read such books as will do you harm.
1.Something that is mandatory, required or recommended.
- If you're trekking all day, a map is a must.
- "There are no musts in my life - I'm free, white, and twenty-one."
2.The property of being stale or musty.
3.Something that exhibits the property of being stale or musty.
4.Fruit juice that will ferment or has fermented, usually from grapes.
Frequency
Overall
Very common· #228
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Common
- General reading & writing
- Very common
- Academic
- Common
- Literature
- Uncommon
Etymology
From Middle English moste ("must", literally, "had to", the past tense of Middle English moten (“to have to”)), from Old English mōste (“had to”), 1st & 3rd person singular past tense of mōtan (“to be allowed, be able to, have the opportunity to, be compelled to, must, may”), from Proto-Germanic *mōtaną.