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

Cleaning trash cans is a chore that most of us would rather pretend doesn't exist, so we're thrilled when a cleaning hack comes along that can save us some pain and effort. —Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 24 Nov. 2025

Queuers would rather sit on the floor than skip the lounge for a chair at the gate, a desperation that might have something to do with Instagram envy, inequality, or an overabundance of premium-economy professionals with business-class expectations. —Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025

For those who don’t want to wait for the podcast (or would rather not engage with Fox News at all), the original audiobook that all these stars lent their voices to is simply available at the time of writing. —Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 20 Nov. 2025

Others think turkey is too dry, and would rather skip the stuffing altogether. —Endia Fontanez, AZCentral.com, 18 Nov. 2025

Rhymes for would rather

• gather
• lather