Origin of must
1
before 900; Middle English
most(e), Old English
mōste (past tense); cognate with German
musste. See
mote2
SYNONYMS FOR must
1
Must,
ought,
should express necessity or duty.
Must expresses necessity or compulsion:
I must attend to those patients first. Soldiers must obey orders.
Ought (weaker than
must ) expresses obligation, duty, desirability:
You ought to tell your mother.
Should expresses obligation, expectation, or probability:
You are not behaving as you should. Children should be taught to speak the truth. They should arrive at one o'clock.
Words nearby must
mussolini,
mussolini, benito,
mussorgsky,
mussulman,
mussy,
must,
must-,
must-have,
must-read,
must-see,
mustache
Definition for must (2 of 6)
must
2
[ muhst ]
/ mʌst /
noun
new wine; the unfermented juice as pressed from the grape or other fruit.
Origin of must
2
before 900; Middle English, Old English < Latin
mustum, short for
vīnum mustum new wine
Definition for must (3 of 6)
must
3
[ muhst ]
/ mʌst /
noun
mold; moldiness; mustiness: a castle harboring the must of centuries.
Origin of must
3
First recorded in 1595–1605; back formation from
musty1
Definition for must (4 of 6)
Definition for must (5 of 6)
must
5
[ muhst ]
/ mʌst /
noun
musk, especially a powder made from musk.
verb (used with object)
to powder (the hair).
Origin of must
5Definition for must (6 of 6)
musth
or must
[ muhst ]
/ mʌst /
noun
a state or condition of violent, destructive frenzy occurring with the rutting season in male elephants, accompanied by the exudation of an oily substance from glands between the eyes and mouth.
Origin of musth
1870–75; < Urdu
mast < Persian: literally, drunk
British Dictionary definitions for must (1 of 5)
must
1
/ (mʌst, unstressed məst, məs) /
verb (takes an infinitive without to or an implied infinitive)
noun
an essential or necessary thing
strong shoes are a must for hill walking
Word Origin for must
Old English
mōste past tense of
mōtan to be allowed, be obliged to; related to Old Saxon
mōtan, Old High German
muozan, German
müssen
British Dictionary definitions for must (2 of 5)
must
2
/ (mʌst) /
noun
mustiness or mould
Word Origin for must
C17: back formation from
musty
British Dictionary definitions for must (3 of 5)
must
3
/ (mʌst) /
noun
the newly pressed juice of grapes or other fruit ready for fermentation
Word Origin for must
Old English, from Latin
mustum new wine, must, from
mustus (adj) newborn
British Dictionary definitions for must (4 of 5)
British Dictionary definitions for must (5 of 5)
musth
must
/ (mʌst) /
noun
(often preceded by in)
a state of frenzied sexual excitement in the males of certain large mammals, esp elephants, associated with discharge from a gland between the ear and eye
Word Origin for musth
C19: from Urdu
mast, from Persian: drunk
Scientific definitions for must
musth
An annual period of heightened aggressiveness and sexual activity in male elephants.
Idioms and Phrases with must
must
see a must; show must go on.