How to Use would-be in a Sentence

would-be

adjective

• Has the would-be thief found a way to bypass the sensors?
  — Laura Bell Main, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023
• But she was called for a foul, negating the would-be goal.
  — oregonlive, 26 Mar. 2023
• The problem is that so many of his would-be voters don’t seem to care.
  — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 13 Jan. 2024
• But as the would-be successors stacked up, the tide slowly turned to the face of those efforts.
  — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2024
• That has pushed many would-be buyers back to the sidelines after a brief reprieve at the start of the year.
  — Gina Heeb, WSJ, 2 Mar. 2023
• The song will earn far more this year than its would-be sale price would indicate.
  — WIRED, 26 Sep. 2023
• That included missing a wide-open man on a would-be TD down the middle of the field.
  — Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, 16 Nov. 2024
• Wear it as a chest bag or waist pouch to keep your essentials close to your body — and away from would-be thieves.
  — Alesandra Dubin, Travel + Leisure, 14 Feb. 2024
• The same could be said of Eden’s would-be partner Claude (Stephan James), whose time in the movie is brief but impactful.
  — Rebecca Sun, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 May 2024
• All the time, the project’s costs had spiraled, both for its builders and for would-be users of its electricity.
  — IEEE Spectrum, 14 Nov. 2023
• Mortgage rates have come back down, and that is going to help would-be home buyers.
  — Justin Lahart, WSJ, 20 Dec. 2023
• Yes, the teaser wasn’t selling this would-be blockbuster well.
  — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2024
• The couple did not end up tying the knot in the finale and broke up a week after their would-be wedding.
  — Eliza Berman, TIME, 2 Oct. 2024
• If the agent who opened fire on the would-be thieves feared for his life, or the life of someone else, he would have been justified in the shooting.
  — Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 18 Nov. 2023
• Some would-be buyers have paused their house hunting plans due to higher rates and prices.
  — Khristopher J. Brooks, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2023
• Holmgren’s length isn’t just used to catch lobs, and finish at the rim, it is also used to ward off would-be scorers at the rim.
  — Mikai Bruce, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024
• But Penix's throw was a beat behind the Biletnikoff Award runner-up and the two couldn't connect on the would-be walk-in touchdown.
  — Detroit Free Press, 9 Jan. 2024
• Williams is showing athleticism and good hands, which could put the would-be high school senior on the field for FSU in a few weeks.
  — Bob Ferrante, Orlando Sentinel, 9 Aug. 2024
• Even so, many would-be buyers have been priced out of the market, economists say.
  — Khristopher J. Brooks, CBS News, 25 Apr. 2024
• From Nassau, would-be pirates could watch the panorama of New World trade gliding by.
  — Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024
• The limping boy, the wag with the bear, the cad with the under look, the Londoner, the libertine, the would-be liberator: take your pick.
  — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024
• The would-be owners got into a conflict with the owners of the building, Maloney said, and the landlord refused to grant the group a lease.
  — Esther Mobley, San Francisco Chronicle, 28 Feb. 2023
• If that’s the case, then the U.S. economy is outrunning its would-be assailant this year.
  — Nick Timiraos, WSJ, 2 Sep. 2023
• These scenes cast the would-be couple in a new light, not as victims of circumstance but as players in their own game.
  — Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 1 Sep. 2023
• That’s a stain that won’t wash away from this would-be American oligarch no matter who wins.
  — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2024
• So are the more eye-popping fares keeping would-be travelers home?
  — Marnie Hunter, CNN, 21 Feb. 2023
• Many would-be home sellers are not willing to give up low mortgage rates on their current homes.
  — Mitchell Parton, Dallas News, 12 July 2023
• Two days after the closure, a steady stream of would-be shoppers were still trying to get into the store around lunchtime on Wednesday.
  — Roland Li, San Francisco Chronicle, 12 Apr. 2023
• In addition to the siren, there's also a flashing strobe light to drive away would-be attackers.
  — Rachel Chang, Travel + Leisure, 26 Nov. 2023
• The would-be heisters perform exactly as expected, and once again, Elsbeth and Kaya have helped their colleague get their man.
  — Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2024

Last Updated: 7 Dec 2024