shall

verb \ shəl , ˈshal \

Definition of shall

past should play \shəd, ˈshu̇d\; present singular and plural shall

auxiliary verb

1 archaic

a : will have to : must

b : will be able to : can

2 a —used to express a command or exhortation

you shall go

b —used in laws, regulations, or directives to express what is mandatory

it shall be unlawful to carry firearms

3 a —used to express what is inevitable or seems likely to happen in the future

we shall have to be ready

we shall see

b —used to express simple futurity

when shall we expect you

4 —used to express determination

they shall not pass

intransitive verb

archaic : will go

he to England shall along with you
—William Shakespeare

See shall defined for English-language learners

shall vs. will

From the reams of pronouncements written about the distinction between shall and will—dating back as far as the 17th century—it is clear that the rules laid down have never very accurately reflected actual usage. The nationalistic statements of 18th and 19th century British grammarians, who commonly cited the misuses of the Irish, the Scots, and occasionally the Americans, suggest that the traditional rules may have come closest to the usage of southern England. Some modern commentators believe that English usage is still the closest to the traditionally prescribed norms. Most modern commentators allow that will is more common in nearly all uses. The entries for shall and will in this dictionary show current usage.

Examples of shall in a Sentence

you shall do as I say

Recent Examples of shall from the Web

Section 3 – That this Resolution shall become effective on the date of its passage.

— justin sayers, The Courier-Journal, "Read the controversial resolution to relocate two Confederate monuments from Lexington," 17 Aug. 2017
Stop forcefully denying and admit it, Cameron: the truth shall set you free!

— yohana desta, HWD, "James Cameron Keeps Making More Titanic Content, Zero New Avatar Films," 26 July 2017
According to local circuit court rules, the election of a chief judge shall occur on or before June 30 in the year prior to the start of the term, which then commences on the first Monday of January and runs for one year.

— erin gallagher, Lake County News-Sun, "Ukena selected by peers to become chief judge of Lake County circuit," 26 June 2017
Customer shall not move the Vehicle in temperatures below 15ºF . .

— davey g. johnson, Car and Driver, "Dodge Demands Owners Sign Waiver When Ordering Demon," 23 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'shall.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of shall

Middle English shal (1st & 3rd singular present indicative), from Old English sceal; akin to Old High German scal (1st & 3rd singular present indicative) ought to, must, Lithuanian skola debt

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

shall Synonyms

Synonyms

have (to), must, need, ought (to), should;

Related Words

will;

SHALL Defined for English Language Learners

shall

verb

Definition of shall for English Language Learners

—used to say that something is expected to happen in the future
—used to ask for someone's opinion
—used to give a command or to say that you will or will not allow something to happen