must

A1 Topic:Grammar & Function Words

Also spelled mun

US /məst/ UK /mʌst/ See IPA manual

Freq #149

Meanings

1

verb
Used to say that something is necessary or required.

You must arrive in class on time.
2

verb
Used to say that something is very likely or almost certainly true.

The children must be asleep by now.
3

noun
Something that is necessary or strongly recommended.

If you're trekking all day, a map is a must.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

3 noun · something that is necessary... necessity

Word family

Forms munnutmun’n’tmustamusts

Derived forms must-buymust-learnmust-linkmust-listeningmust-movemust-readmust-trymust-winmustimetermusturbation

Etymology

From Middle English moste ("must", literally, "had to", the past tense of Middle English moten (“to have to”)), from Old English mōste (“had to”), 1st & 3rd person singular past tense of mōtan (“to be allowed, be able to, have the opportunity to, be compelled to, must, may”), from Proto-Germanic *mōtaną. Cognate with Dutch moest (“had to”), German musste (“had to”), Swedish måste (“must, have to, be obliged to”). More at mote.

*med- Proto-Indo-European moste Middle English moten Middle English mōste Old English *mōtaną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Grammar & Function Words

External links

# must

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /məst/
**IPA (UK):** /mʌst/
**Frequency rank:** 149

## Meanings
1. Used to say that something is necessary or required.
2. Used to say that something is very likely or almost certainly true.
3. Something that is necessary or strongly recommended.

## Examples
- You must arrive in class on time.
- The children must be asleep by now.
- If you're trekking all day, a map is a must.

## Derived Forms
- must-buy
- must-learn
- must-link
- must-listening
- must-move
- must-read
- must-try
- must-win
- mustimeter
- musturbation

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *med-
- Root: moste
- Root: moten
- Root: mōste
- Root: *mōtaną

## Etymology
From Middle English moste ("must", literally, "had to", the past tense of Middle English moten (“to have to”)), from Old English mōste (“had to”), 1st & 3rd person singular past tense of mōtan (“to be allowed, be able to, have the opportunity to, be compelled to, must, may”), from Proto-Germanic *mōtaną. Cognate with Dutch moest (“had to”), German musste (“had to”), Swedish måste (“must, have to, be obliged to”). More at mote.

## AI Etymology
Must comes from Middle English moste ("must", literally, "had to", the past tense of Middle English moten (“to have to”)), from Old English mōste (“had to”), 1st & 3rd person singular past tense of mōtan (“to be allowed, be able to, have the opportunity to, be compelled to, must, may”), from Proto-Germanic *mōtaną. Cognate with Dutch moest (“had to”), German musste (“had to”), Swedish måste (“must, have to, be obliged to”). More at mote. In present-day English its meanings include used to say that something is necessary or required, used to say that something is very likely or almost certainly true, and something that is necessary or strongly recommended. The historical chain runs through *med- (Proto-Indo-European), moste (Middle English), moten (Middle English), mōste (Old English), and *mōtaną (Proto-Germanic).

## Topics
- Grammar & Function Words

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