maybe
English · Thesaurus
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maybe
- /ˈmeɪ.bi/
- [ˈmeɪ̯.bi]
- /mɛˈbiː/ Northumbria
- /ˈmæɪ.bi/ Australia
- [ˈmæɪ̯.bi] Australia
Rhymes with -eɪbi
Where it comes from
From an ellipsis of Middle English it may be, equivalent to may + be. Compare mayhap.
adverb mebbe · may-be
-
Perhaps, possibly.
A small extra effort now can maybe save you much work later.
Similar: mayhaps, peradventure, perhaps, possibly, could be, might be, that’s possible
- Perhaps that is true (expressing no commitment to a decision or a neutral viewpoint to a statement). Okay. See you later, maybe. — Maybe I’ll see you later.
- Certainly. Maybe not the best idea.
adjective more maybe · most maybe · mebbe · may-be
- Possible; uncertain. Then add those may-be years thou hast to live
noun maybes · mebbe · may-be
- Something that is possibly true.
- An answer that shows neither agreement nor disagreement. The results of the poll were inconclusive. We got two yeses, three nos, and four maybes.
- A future event that may or may not happen. About your raise: it's a big maybe.
Similar: perhaps
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: peradventure, possibly, perchance, perhaps, possible, probably, could, likely, potentially, suppose, presumably, arguably, putatively, sometimes, just, can
noun
Similar: perhaps
Translations
Every language
adv indicating a lack of certainty
| Español | quizá, quizás, tal vez, talvez, acaso, capaz que |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 아마 ama, 아마도 amado, 어쩌면 eojjeomyeon |
| 日本語 | 多分 tabun, 若しや moshiya, …かもしれない ...kamo shirenai, …でしょう deshō |
| 中文 | 也許 /也许 yěxǔ, 或許 /或许 huòxǔ, 或是 huòshì, 可能 kěnéng |
| हिन्दी | शायद śāyad, कदाचित् kadācit, कदाचित kadācit |
| Português | talvez, porventura, quiçá, se calhar, quem sabe, possivelmente |
| Français | peut-être, peut-être que, il se peut que |
| Deutsch | vielleicht, möglicherweise, womöglich |
| Italiano | forse, magari, chissà |
| Ελληνικά | ίσως ísos |
| Română | poate |
| Русский | мо́жет быть móžet bytʹ, возмо́жно vozmóžno, наве́рное navérnoje, то́ ли tó li |
| Tiếng Việt | có lẽ |
| العربية | رُبَّمَا rubbamā, مِن اَلْمُمْكِن min al-mumkin, لَعَلَّ laʕalla |
| עברית | אוּלַי ulái, יִתָּכֵן yitakhén |
adv as a pro-sentence
| Español | es posible |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 多分 tabun |
| 中文 | 也許 /也许 yěxǔ, 或許 /或许 huòxǔ, 或是 huòshì, 可能 kěnéng |
| हिन्दी | कदाचित kadācit |
| Português | é possível, pode ser, talvez, porventura, quiçá, se calhar |
| Français | peut-être, c'est possible |
| Deutsch | vielleicht, kann sein, gut möglich |
| Italiano | forse, può essere |
| Română | poate |
| Русский | мо́жет быть móžet bytʹ, возмо́жно vozmóžno |
| العربية | رُبَّمَا rubbamā, مِن اَلْمُمْكِن min al-mumkin |
| עברית | אוּלַי ulái |
Talk about this word "maybe." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/maybe. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. maybe. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/maybe "maybe." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/maybe.Cite this
@misc{maybe_2026,
title = {maybe},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/maybe},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
