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must

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must¹

  • /məst/
  • /məs/
  • /mʌst/
  • /mʊst/

Sounds like mussed, musth · Rhymes with -ʌst

Where it comes from

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. Cognate with Dutch moest (“had to”), German musste (“had to”), Swedish måste (“must, have to, be obliged to”). More at mote.

verb must · - · mote

  1. auxiliary, defective, modal, no past participle, no present participle 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.
  2. auxiliary, defective, modal, no past participle, no present participle To do with certainty; indicates that the speaker is certain that the subject will have executed the predicate. If it has rained all day, it must be very wet outside.
  3. auxiliary, defective, modal, no past participle, no present participle Used to indicate that something is very likely, probable, or certain to be true. The children must be asleep by now.

noun musts · mus'

  1. auxiliary, defective, modal Something that is mandatory, required or recommended. If you're trekking all day, a map is a must.

    Similar: imperative, necessity · Opposite: no-no

must²

  • /məst/
  • /məs/
  • /mʌst/
  • /mʊst/

Sounds like mussed, musth · Rhymes with -ʌst

Where it comes from

From Middle English must, from Old English must and Old French must, most, both from Latin mustum.

noun musts

  1. auxiliary, countable, defective, modal, uncountable The property of being stale or musty.
  2. auxiliary, countable, defective, modal, uncountable Something that exhibits the property of being stale or musty.
  3. auxiliary, countable, defective, modal, uncountable Fruit juice that will ferment or has fermented, usually from grapes (in winemaking) or apples (in cidermaking). The guide then explained that the must drains from the cider press and runs into the vats where it will ferment.

verb musts · musting · musted

  1. auxiliary, defective, modal, transitive To make musty.
  2. auxiliary, defective, intransitive, modal To become musty.

must³

  • /məst/
  • /məs/
  • /mʌst/
  • /mʊst/

Sounds like mussed, musth · Rhymes with -ʌst

Where it comes from

See musth.

noun musts

  1. alternative, auxiliary, countable, defective, modal, uncountable Alternative spelling of musth No animal in the world is so dangerous as an elephant in must.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: essential, ought, need, should, have got, have, requirement, necessary, needs, necessity, probably, needed, required, guess, imperative, important

Translations

Every language

verb be required to

Españoldeber, deber de
한국어-어야 하다 -eoya hada, -어야 되다 -eoya doeda
日本語...なきゃ ...nakya, ...なくちゃ ...nakucha
中文應該 /应该 yīnggāi, 必須 /必须 bìxū
हिन्दीचाहिए cāhie, पड़ना paṛnā, होगा hogā
Kiswahililazima
Portuguêsdever
Françaisdevoir
Deutschmüssen
Italianodovere
Ελληνικάπρέπει prépei
Românătrebui
Русскийдо́лжен dólžen, должна́ dolžná, должно́ dolžnó, должны́ dolžný
Tiếng Việtphải
العربيةوَجَبَ wajaba, يَتَحَتَّم yataḥattam, يَلْزَم yalzam, لَا بُدَّ lā budda
עבריתחַיָּב ẖayyáv

verb said about something that is very likely, probable, or certain to be true

Españoldeber de, deber
한국어-겠- -get-, -을 것이다 -eul geosida
Portuguêsdever
Françaisdevoir
Italianodovere
Русскийдолжно́ быть dolžnó bytʹ, наве́рное navérnoje
العربيةلَابُدَّ lābudda

noun something mandatory

Portuguêsdever
Françaismust, obligation
DeutschMuss
Italianoobbligo, dovere
Ελληνικάαναγκαιότητα anagkaiótita, υποχρέωση ypochréosi
Русскиймаст mast

noun fruit juice that will ferment or has fermented, usually from grapes

Españolmosto
Portuguêsmosto
Françaismoût m or mout
DeutschMost
Italianomosto
Ελληνικάμούστος moústos
Românămust
Русскиймуст must
العربيةعَصِير ʕaṣīr
עבריתתִּירוֹשׁ tirósh

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MLA

"must." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/must. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

must. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/must

Chicago

"must." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/must.

BibTeX
@misc{must_2026,
  title = {must},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/must},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}