# must

Pronunciation: say "MUST" /mʌst/

## Verb

1. Used to say that something is necessary or required, because of a rule, a duty or the situation.
   - Simple: Used to say something has to be done, or is necessary.
   - _All visitors must sign in at reception._
   - _Passengers must wear a seat belt or face a fine._
2. Used to infer that something is very likely or certain to be true.
   - Simple: Used to say something is very likely, judging from the facts.
   - _You must be tired after such a long drive._
   - _That must be the new neighbor._
4. Used to urge someone to try or do something, or to invite them warmly, because the speaker thinks it is excellent or well worth it.
   - Simple: Used to tell someone strongly that they should try something or come somewhere, because you think it is very good.
   - _If you're ever in Chicago, you must see the Art Institute; it's wonderful._
   - _You simply must join us at the lake house this summer._
7. To become musty and stale with damp, or to make something musty.
   - Simple: To go stale and smell of damp and mold, or to make something do this.

## Noun

3. Something mandatory, required or strongly recommended ('a map is a must'); plural 'musts'.
   - Simple: Something you have to do or have, used as a noun.
   - _Booking ahead is a must in August._
   - _Her list of musts filled a page._
5. Fruit juice, usually from grapes, that will ferment or is fermenting into wine.
   - Simple: Fresh fruit juice, usually from grapes, that is going to be, or is being, made into wine.
   - _The must is pressed from the grapes within hours of picking._
   - _Red wine takes its color from skins left in the must._
6. Mustiness: the stale, damp, moldy smell or state of something shut away, or a thing gone musty.
   - Simple: A stale, damp smell like an old shut room, or something that has gone stale and moldy.
   - _Open the windows and let the must out._
   - _When we finally opened the attic door, the smell of must and old paper hit us._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–4** — Must was once a past tense. Old English mōtan meant to be allowed, able or compelled, and its past form mōste ("had to") became Middle English moste ("must", literally "had to"), the past of moten ("to have to"). The Proto-Germanic verb was *mōtaną. Dutch moest, German musste and Swedish måste are related.
**Meanings 5–7** — Both Old English and Old French had the word must (French also had most), and both took it from Latin mustum. The two together produced Middle English must.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/must (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).