maybe
Pluralmaybes
- 1Used to express that something is possible or might be true, but is not certain.
Maybe the package will arrive before the weekend.
He said maybe he would join us, depending on his schedule.
UsageOne word, maybe, is the adverb; two words, may be, form a verb phrase: maybe it is late, it may be late.
Similarperhaps, possibly, conceivably
Oppositedefinitely, certainly
- 2Tones down a proposal, an offer or a request, making it come across as tactful rather than insistent.
Maybe you'd like to sit down while you wait for the doctor?
Maybe we should take another look at the budget before we vote on it.
UsageUsually opens the sentence, with could, should or 'd like, often as a question; perhaps does the same job in formal writing.
Similarperhaps
Note
Politeness here comes from presenting a request as a mere possibility. The same frame can turn pointed, though. Maybe you should try listening for once is a rebuke dressed as advice, and tone decides which one the hearer gets.
- 3Said on its own as an answer, neither agreeing nor refusing, so that a decision or opinion is left open.
"Will you take the job?" "Maybe. I need to think it over."
She answered maybe, unwilling to commit to either side.
UsageCan stand alone as a noncommittal reply: 'Will you come?' 'Maybe.'
Similarperhaps
Note
Here the word does the work of a whole sentence, the way yes and no do. Grammarians call this a pro-sentence. Once it takes an article or a plural, it has become the noun for a noncommittal answer, as in four yeses and two maybes.
Less common meanings
- 4An answer of 'maybe', referred to or counted as a thing; a reply that neither agrees nor disagrees, as in 'two yeses and three maybes'.
His noncommittal maybe left the committee without clear direction.
We got a maybe from the supplier, so nothing is settled.
UsageTakes a and a plural (a maybe, two maybes), often set against yes and no: a yes or no, not a maybe.
- 5Something that may or may not happen or be true; an uncertain possibility.
The merger remains a maybe until both boards vote.
We treated the concert as a maybe and kept our plans loose.
UsageUsually a maybe after be, often with still, just or only: the merger is still a maybe.
Note
Uncertainty about the future gets a size here: in it's a big maybe, big measures the doubt, not the event. Said of a raise or a deal, the phrase lowers hopes without refusing outright.
- 6Describing something as possible but not yet certain; still undecided.
Sorting through the applications, she made three piles: yes, no, and a maybe pile she would come back to on Monday.
The list has twelve definite guests and four maybe guests who have not replied.
UsageComes before a noun: a maybe pile, maybe guests.
Similaruncertain, undecided, tentative, iffy
Oppositedefinite, certain, firm
Note
Dryden's "may-be years" in The Hind and the Panther (1687) keep a hyphen between may and be, the two words of it may be that gave us the adverb. Modern usage writes the word solid, as in a maybe pile.
- 7Certainly; said as a deliberate understatement, so that a point everyone can see is true sounds merely possible.
Taking the ferry out in a force-nine gale was maybe not the wisest plan we've ever had.
He's maybe had a few too many: he's singing to the lamp post outside the pub.
UsageUsually with not or a bit: maybe not the wisest plan, maybe a bit much; tone and context show it is ironic.
Note
A British habit of understatement turns the hedge inside out. Rhetoricians call the device meiosis, and the doubt is not meant to be believed: Maybe not the best idea means it was plainly a bad one.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
This comes from a shortening of the Middle English phrase "it may be", made up of "may" plus "be".
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Maybe comes from a shortening of Middle English "it may be". en.wiktionary.org
- Maybe consists of "may" plus "be". token.ujk.edu.pl