How to Use would-be in a Sentence

would-be

adjective
  • Has the would-be thief found a way to bypass the sensors?
    — Laura Bell Main, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023
  • But she was called for a foul, negating the would-be goal.
    — oregonlive, 26 Mar. 2023
  • Two would-be game-tying swings, two outs just shy of the wall.
    — Alan Cole, Los Angeles Times, 25 May 2025
  • The problem is that so many of his would-be voters don’t seem to care.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 13 Jan. 2024
  • Near the end of the run, Fiske made a terrific move to fake out a would-be tackler.
    — Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 2 Dec. 2024
  • But as the would-be successors stacked up, the tide slowly turned to the face of those efforts.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2024
  • That has pushed many would-be buyers back to the sidelines after a brief reprieve at the start of the year.
    — Gina Heeb, WSJ, 2 Mar. 2023
  • The song will earn far more this year than its would-be sale price would indicate.
    — WIRED, 26 Sep. 2023
  • That included missing a wide-open man on a would-be TD down the middle of the field.
    — Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, 16 Nov. 2024
  • Wear it as a chest bag or waist pouch to keep your essentials close to your body — and away from would-be thieves.
    — Alesandra Dubin, Travel + Leisure, 14 Feb. 2024
  • The same could be said of Eden’s would-be partner Claude (Stephan James), whose time in the movie is brief but impactful.
    — Rebecca Sun, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 May 2024
  • All the time, the project’s costs had spiraled, both for its builders and for would-be users of its electricity.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 14 Nov. 2023
  • Griffith said police are still searching for the would-be thief.
    — Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 14 Jan. 2025
  • Mortgage rates have come back down, and that is going to help would-be home buyers.
    — Justin Lahart, WSJ, 20 Dec. 2023
  • Yes, the teaser wasn’t selling this would-be blockbuster well.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2024
  • The couple did not end up tying the knot in the finale and broke up a week after their would-be wedding.
    — Eliza Berman, TIME, 2 Oct. 2024
  • The consultant has a couple of caveats for would-be owners.
    — Jamie Gold, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
  • If the agent who opened fire on the would-be thieves feared for his life, or the life of someone else, he would have been justified in the shooting.
    — Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 18 Nov. 2023
  • Some would-be buyers have paused their house hunting plans due to higher rates and prices.
    — Khristopher J. Brooks, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2023
  • The 31-year-old victim managed to get away from the would-be captors, but the suspects got hold of the victim’s phone — and the keys to his apartment.
    — Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 6 June 2025
  • Holmgren’s length isn’t just used to catch lobs, and finish at the rim, it is also used to ward off would-be scorers at the rim.
    — Mikai Bruce, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024
  • But Penix's throw was a beat behind the Biletnikoff Award runner-up and the two couldn't connect on the would-be walk-in touchdown.
    — Detroit Free Press, 9 Jan. 2024
  • Williams is showing athleticism and good hands, which could put the would-be high school senior on the field for FSU in a few weeks.
    — Bob Ferrante, Orlando Sentinel, 9 Aug. 2024
  • But that came at the expense of blocking out would-be competitors.
    — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 18 Apr. 2025
  • Even so, many would-be buyers have been priced out of the market, economists say.
    — Khristopher J. Brooks, CBS News, 25 Apr. 2024
  • From Nassau, would-be pirates could watch the panorama of New World trade gliding by.
    — Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024
  • The limping boy, the wag with the bear, the cad with the under look, the Londoner, the libertine, the would-be liberator: take your pick.
    — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024
  • The would-be owners got into a conflict with the owners of the building, Maloney said, and the landlord refused to grant the group a lease.
    — Esther Mobley, San Francisco Chronicle, 28 Feb. 2023
  • Those claims alleged that the MTA failed to lock doors or block would-be subway surfers from attempting the challenges.
    — ArsTechnica, 30 June 2025
  • The first, of course, was dinosaurs, as the movie warned would-be genetican engineers the consequences of playing God.
    — Peter Debruge, Variety, 30 June 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'would-be.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: