may
∞
1.0
- auxiliary
- /meɪ/
- May all your wishes come true this year.
Examples
-
May I borrow your pen?
-
It may rain later, so bring an umbrella just in case.
-
You may leave the classroom when you finish your work.
-
You may leave now.
-
You may leave the classroom when you finish your work.
-
It may rain later, so bring an umbrella just in case.
-
May all your wishes come true this year.
Idioms
- Informal
7
7.8
To accept what happens and not try to change the result
- Informal
3
6.7
A wish of good luck people say to encourage someone, often playfully
- Informal
1
9.4
To wish someone good luck when the result depends on chance
A phrase that says hurt to the body is worse than insults and words do not hurt
Phrasal Verbs
Compounds
27
1.0
The first day of May that many countries celebrate as a spring festival or a workers' holiday
- UK
1
7.2
A large beetle that appears in late spring whose larvae eat plant roots and can damage lawns
- UK
1
9.9
A low plant with two long leaves, small sweet-smelling bell flowers and red berries
- Specialized
1
9.9
A North American plant with large umbrella leaves, a poisonous root, and an edible yellow fruit
- Specialized
1
9.4
A small North American bird with yellow and olive-green feathers and black streaks
- US
A fish with black bars found in shallow bays and marshes along the US Atlantic and Gulf coasts
How Likely
Surface Forms
Etymology
May comes from an old German word magan that meant 'to be able'. Like can or might, may shows permission, possibility, or a wish, so its origin helps explain why we use it to allow things, to say something might happen, or to express a hope.