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

The pair had different modes of collaboration—Bernstein preferred to work in the room together, while Sondheim would rather be apart—but the cryptics that arrived every week in the British magazine The Listener helped bridge the divide. —Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2025

Crowe was hilarious as seemingly amoral enforcer Jackson Healy in Shane Black’s The Nice Guys, a human bulldozer who can crack wise with the best but would rather crack skulls. —Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 11 Dec. 2025

The move is the latest rebellion by rank-and-file Republicans to force votes on issues that leadership would rather avoid. —Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, 10 Dec. 2025

Stephen Miran preferred a half-point cut, while Austan Goolsbee and Jeffrey Schmid would rather have made no change to the federal funds rate. —Rachel Barber, USA Today, 10 Dec. 2025

Rhymes for would rather

• gather
• lather