I. MODAL USES
/maɪt/
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
Note: 'Might' is a modal verb. It is used with the base form of a verb.
Please look at category 13 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1.
You use might to indicate that something will possibly happen or be true in the future, but you cannot be certain.
Smoking might be banned totally in most buildings...
I might well regret it later...
He said he might not be back until tonight.
= may
MODAL [ vagueness ]
2.
You use might to indicate that there is a possibility that something is true, but you cannot be certain.
She and Simon’s father had not given up hope that he might be alive...
You might be right...
= may
MODAL [ vagueness ]
3.
You use might to indicate that something could happen or be true in particular circumstances.
America might sell more cars to the islands if they were made with the steering wheel on the right.
...the type of person who might appear in a fashion magazine.
= could
MODAL [ vagueness ]
4.
You use might have with a past participle to indicate that it is possible that something happened or was true, or when giving a possible explanation for something.
I heard what might have been an explosion...
She thought the shooting might have been an accident...
= could have
MODAL
5.
You use might have with a past participle to indicate that something was a possibility in the past, although it did not actually happen.
Had the bomb dropped over a populated area of the city, there might have been a great deal of damage...
MODAL
6.
You use might in statements where you are accepting the truth of a situation, but contrasting it with something that is more important.
They might not have two cents to rub together, but at least they have a kind of lifestyle that is different.
= may
MODAL
7.
You use might when you are saying emphatically that someone ought to do the thing mentioned, especially when you are annoyed because they have not done it.
You might have told me that before!
= could
MODAL [ emphasis ]
8.
You use might to make a suggestion or to give advice in a very polite way.
They might be wise to stop advertising on television...
You might try the gas station down the street...
MODAL [ politeness ]
9.
You use might as a polite way of interrupting someone, asking a question, making a request, or introducing what you are going to say next. ( FORMAL, SPOKEN )
Might I make a suggestion?...
Might I draw your readers’ attention to the dangers in the Government’s proposal.
= could
MODAL [ politeness ]
10.
You use might in expressions such as as you might expect and as you might imagine in order to indicate that the statement you are making is not surprising.
‘How’s Jan?’ she asked.—‘Bad. As you might expect.’...
The drivers, as you might imagine, didn’t care much for that.
= would
MODAL
11.
You use might in expressions such as I might add and I might say in order to emphasize a statement that you are making.
It didn’t come as a great surprise to me, I might say.
MODAL [ emphasis ]
12.
You use might in expressions such as I might have known and I might have guessed to indicate that you are not surprised at a disappointing event or fact.
‘I detest clutter, you know.’—‘I didn’t know, but I might have guessed.’
= should
MODAL
13.
might as well: see well
II. NOUN USES
/maɪt/
1.
Might is power or strength. ( FORMAL )
The might of the army could prove a decisive factor.
= strength
N-UNCOUNT : usu with supp
2.
If you do something with all your might , you do it using all your strength and energy.
She swung the hammer at his head with all her might.
PHRASE : PHR with v