would rather

idiom

—used to indicate what one wants or prefers to do, have, etc.

She would rather drive than take the train.

I would rather you didn't tell them.

"If you'd rather, we can go outside." "No, thanks—I'd rather not."

Which beach would you rather go to?

Examples of would rather in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

My kindergarten classmates tended to gravitate towards calligraphy, swimming, ballet and English conversation classes, but I would rather be caught dead than do anything that involved ‘learning together’. —Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025

And yet, Dallas would rather hold on to these standard roster pieces than a healthy Banton or Smith. —Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025

The banks would rather lend to someone who makes a $100,000 W-2 salary consistently than someone who has $5,000 in their account but is worth $40 million in bitcoin. —Kim Velsey, Curbed, 17 Oct. 2025

But there’s an unfulfilled quest to Seau’s NFL career that Warner would rather not experience himself. —Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Oct. 2025

Rhymes for would rather

• gather
• lather