would've

Australia, UK, US/ˈwʊdəv/Australia, UK, US/ˈwʊdə/British, Southern, Standard/ˈwɵdəv/British, Southern, Standard/ˈwɵdə/

A form of would — Used to form the "anterior future", or "future in the past", indicating a futurity relative to a past time.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

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

    I would've gone if it hadn't rained.

    1 more example

    We would've been warmer if you had closed the window.

Translations

Spanish (él) habría, hubiese
  • (él) habríacontraction
  • hubiesecontraction
  • hubieracontraction
Cite this entry
APA

would've. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/would've

MLA

“would've.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/would've. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “would've,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/would've.

Source: would've on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.