| 1. must (indicating duty or obligation); would (softening the statement); would be (expressing the conditional nature of the connected statement). shouldshould , imp. of shall. [oe. sholde, shulde, scholde, schulde, as. scolde, sceolde. see: shall.] used as an auxiliary verb, to express a conditional or contingent act or state, or as a supposition of an actual fact; also, to express moral obligation (see: shall); e. g.: they should have come last week; if i should go; i should think you could go. you have done that you should be sorry for |