Alternative Spelling guide

would've

contraction · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

This record is a supporting form or spelling variant of would. Use the canonical entry for the main definition and word-family path.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: /ˈwʊdəv/
  • US:
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ʊdəv
  • CMU ARPABET: W UH1 D AH0 V Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

contraction

Meaning 1

Contraction of would + have, indicating a non-occurring action or state that was conditional on another non-occurring event in the past.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, contraction

Examples

  • We would've been warmer if you had closed the window.
  • I would've gone if it hadn't rained.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

3 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Spanish: (él) habría — contraction
  • Spanish: hubiese — contraction
  • Spanish: hubiera — contraction