: desiring, intending, professing, or having the potential to be
tips for would-be mothers and fathers
The conference, held over the Labor Day weekend, drew 1200 to 1300 writers and would-be writers to the Hawaiian island this year …John F. Baker
Possibly the most hilarious and outrageous character was Joey Tribbiani, a would-be actor who struggles to find success in his chosen profession …The Cheat Sheet
She's a clueless, would-be do-gooder without much self-awareness.Maureen Ryan

Examples of would-be in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
With just three weeks until writer-director James Gunn’s Superman soars into theaters on July 11th as the first superhero would-be blockbuster of 2025 summer movie season and the official live-action kickoff of the DCU. Mark Hughes, Forbes.com, 20 June 2025 Advertisement Still, as the U.S. has even charged would-be assassins, Iran has denied ever targeting Trump. Politico reported last July that the U.S. intelligence community had collected increasing evidence suggesting Iran was actively working on plots to kill Trump. Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 20 June 2025 The actor rounds out the Buckley clan as Cane, Harlan's would-be successor. EW.com, 19 June 2025 But paired with the Trump administration’s focus on rebuilding America’s industrial might, it’s rightly seen as an invitation for would-be acquirers to make their case. Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 19 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for would-be

Word History

First Known Use

1647, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of would-be was in 1647

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Cite this Entry

“Would-be.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/would-be. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

would-be

adjective
ˌwu̇d-ˌbē
: desiring, intending, or pretending to be
a would-be poet

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