would rather

idiom

—used to indicate what one wants or prefers to do, have, etc.

She would rather drive than take the train.

I would rather you didn't tell them.

"If you'd rather, we can go outside." "No, thanks—I'd rather not."

Which beach would you rather go to?

Examples of would rather in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Miss Manners would rather attribute the mistake to benign ignorance than willful malice. —Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 25 May 2024

In Lander’s view, what Tesla does could have implications that spill across other companies and founders who would rather keep close control of their companies while still having access to the capital markets. —Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 25 May 2024

In an interview with podcast host Tom Power to promote the book, Perry said he would rather be remembered for helping others trying to get sober. —Armani Syed, TIME, 22 May 2024

And while picking a paint color is very subjective and plenty of people are making their homes more colorful, neutrals are still very popular: 65% of our survey respondents would rather have a neutral, minimalist home than a colorful, maximalist one, and 1 in 4 avoids bright colors completely. —Lauren Phillips, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 May 2024

Excited for an era of long-lasting powerful Windows laptops with Arm chips and 45 TOPS for AI but would rather pay less and plug into the wall? —Sean Hollister, The Verge, 21 May 2024

But his endeavors are challenged by corrupt mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), who would rather stick to the status quo. —Shania Russell, EW.com, 16 May 2024

At least one network executive — who would rather chuckle anonymously — is amused by it all. —Michael Schneider, Variety, 14 May 2024

Any team starting from scratch would rather have Curry. —Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 12 May 2024