Added 9 October 2026

should

/ʃəd/ verb

In Latin: oportet Wiktionary

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about should at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Ought to; indicating opinion, advice, or instruction, about what is required or desirable. Used to issue an instruction (traditionally seen as carrying less force of authority than alternatives such as 'shall' or 'must').
You should never drink and drive.
Used to issue an instruction (traditionally seen as carrying less force of authority than alternatives such as 'shall' or 'must').
You should never drink and drive.
Used to give advice or opinion that an action is, or would have been, beneficial or desirable.
You should go and see that film. I think you'll enjoy it.

To suggest (that someone ought to do something, or that something ought to be the case) by, or as if by, using the word should.

From Middle English scholde, from Old English sċolde, first and third person preterite form of sċulan (“should,” “have to,” “to owe”), the ancestor of English shall. By surface analysis, shall + -ed. Cognate with German sollte, Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌿𐌻𐌳𐌰 (skulda), Swedish skulle. Related to Middle English shild and shildy. The loss of /l/ in this word is probably due to weak stress, as in would and could (though in the latter, the /l/ was due to the analogy of the former two).