I. (|)məs(t) verb
( present & past all persons must )
Etymology: Middle English moste (past indicative & subjunctive of moten to be allowed to, be able to, have to), from Old English mōste, past indicative & subjunctive of mōtan to be allowed to, be able to, have to; akin to Old Saxon mōtan to have cause for, be obliged to, have to, Old High German muozan to be allowed to, be able to, have to, Gothic ga motan to have room, fit; basic meaning: to have allotted to one; derivative from the stem of Old English metan to measure — more at mete
verbal auxiliary
1.
a. : is commanded or requested to
you must stop that noise
you must hear my side of the story
he must be made to obey
I told him what he must do
b. : is urged to : ought by all means to
you must read that book
you must come to visit us soon
2. : is compelled by physical necessity to
man must eat to live
: is required by immediate or future need or purpose to
we must hurry if we want to catch the bus
must you take all that luggage along
if you wished to see it you must queue — Leslie Eytle
3. : is obliged to : is compelled by social considerations to
I must say you're looking much better
I must admit your plane's safer
realized that he must say nothing about it
4. : is required by law, custom, or moral conscience to
we must obey the rules
you must respect your father's wishes
the present government must go … for it is too gross a scandal — John Buchan
5.
a. : is compelled by resolve : is determined to
if you must go at least wait till the storm is over
b. : is unreasonably or perversely compelled to
I was planning a surprise for you, if you must know
why must you be so stubborn
why must it always rain on weekends
6. : is logically inferred or supposed to
he must be out of his mind to say that
it must be nearly dinner time
he must have done it, no one else was there
it must have been the coffee that kept me awake
7. : is compelled by fate or by natural law to
what must be will be
the innocent must suffer with the guilty
three men who must leave their Queen on her death bed — Edith Sitwell
a woman must have children to love — Edith Wharton
8. : was presumably certain to : would surely or necessarily : was bound to
if he had really been there I must have seen him
buffalo … beat out a track where human beings must have measurably failed — S.C.Williams
must have fallen had the railing not been there
my rifle was slung on my back … else I must have lost it — Lea MacNally
9. dialect : may , shall — used chiefly in questions
must I bring in the soup now
intransitive verb
1. : is obliged or compelled
when Duty whispers low “thou must ” the youth replies “I can” — R.W.Emerson
shoot if you must this old gray head — J.G.Whittier
2. archaic : ought to go : is obliged to go — used with adverb or adverbial phrase
I must to Coventry — Shakespeare
I must now to breakfast — John Buchan
Synonyms: see ought
II. ˈməst noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
1.
a. : an imperative need or duty : obligation , requirement
in highly competitive modern industry, technological progress is a must — Annual Report General Motors Corp.
told Republican leadership that the bill was a must — New York Times
less plagued … by rigid musts — Walter de la Mare
b. : an indispensable item : essential , necessity
a raincoat is an absolute must — Richard Joseph
facility, capacity and dependability of project equipment are musts — Military Engineer
specifically : a priority item marked for inclusion without fail in a particular edition of a newspaper
2. : something that deserves attention because of its outstanding merit
this is a lovely place, a real must for visitors — Richard Joseph
for the thrill of being close to the original … the volume is a must — Louis Marder
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English, from Latin mustum, from neuter of mustus young, fresh, new; perhaps akin to Greek mysos spot, stain, defect, Old Irish mossach dirty, Old English mos moss — more at moss
1.
a. : the juice of grapes or other fruit before and during fermentation
b. : the juice in combination with the pulp and skins of the crushed fruit
2. dialect England : the pomace of apples or pears often used as fodder for livestock
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French, alteration of musc — more at musk
1. : musk
2. : mustiness , mold
the dust and must of a decade — Marcia Davenport
V. intransitive verb
: to become musty or moldy
transitive verb
archaic : to powder (the hair) with musk
VI.
variant of musth