must
noun
1. a necessary or essential thing
- seat belts are an absolute must
Definition categories: object, essential, necessary, necessity, requirement, requisite
2. grape juice before or during fermentation
Definition categories: food
3. the quality of smelling or tasting old or stale or mouldy
Similar word(s): moldiness, mustiness
Definition categories: attribute, staleness
Sentences with must as a noun:
- If you'll be out all day, a map is a must.
verb
1. (modal auxiliary, defective) To do with certainty; indicates that the speaker is certain that the subject will have executed the predicate.
- If it has rained all day, it must be very wet outside.
- You picked one of two, and it wasn't the first: it must have been the second.
- The children must be asleep by now.
2. (modal auxiliary, defective) To do as a requirement; indicates that the sentence subject is required as an imperative or directive to execute the sentence predicate, with failure to do so resulting in a negative consequence.
- You must arrive in class on time. — the requirement is an imperativeThis door handle must be rotated fully. — the requirement is a directiveArise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. (Bible, Acts 9:6)
3. (transitive) To make musty.
4. (intransitive) To become musty.