# would

> English word · Verb · IPA /wəd/ · frequency rank #63

## Definitions
1. Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
2. Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
3. Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
4. Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
5. Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
6. Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
7. A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
8. A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
9. A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
10. A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
11. A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
12. A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
13. A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
14. A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
15. A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.

## Etymology
From Old English wolde, past tense of willan, predecessor of will.
The loss of /l/ in this word is probably due to weak stress, as in should and could (though in the latter, the /l/ was due to the analogy of the former two).

## Easily confused with
- **wound** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/would-vs-wound)
- **wounds** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/would-vs-wounds)
- **woulda** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/would-vs-woulda)
- **word** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/word-vs-would)
- **wild** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wild-vs-would)
- **wood** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wood-vs-would)
- **wolf** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wolf-vs-would)
- **wool** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wool-vs-would)
- **Weld** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weld-vs-would)
- **wold** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wold-vs-would)
- **wald** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wald-vs-would)
- **world** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/world-vs-would)
- **wield** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wield-vs-would)
- **Woolf** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/woolf-vs-would)
- **worlds** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/worlds-vs-would)

## Common misspellings (7)
`owuld`, `wolud`, `woudl`, `wouldd`, `woulld`, `wuold`, `wwould`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/would