maybe
adverbadjectivenountop 1 000 in film dialogue
- Australia//ˈmæɪ.bi//
- //ˈmeɪ.bi//
- /[ˈmeɪ̯.bi]/
- //mɛˈbiː//
Perhaps, possibly.
adverb
- 1
Perhaps, possibly.
A small extra effort now can maybe save you much work later.
Maybe I was imagining it, but I could swear that the dog understood what I was saying.
- 2
Perhaps that is true (expressing no commitment to a decision or a neutral viewpoint to a statement).
Okay. See you later, maybe. — Maybe I’ll see you later.
- 3
Certainly.
Maybe not the best idea.
Etymology
From an ellipsis of Middle English it may be, equivalent to may + be. Compare mayhap.
adjective
- 1
Possible; uncertain.
Then add those may-be years thou hast to live
noun
- 1
informalSomething that is possibly true.
- 2
informalAn answer that shows neither agreement nor disagreement.
The results of the poll were inconclusive. We got two yeses, three nos, and four maybes.
- 3
informalA future event that may or may not happen.
About your raise: it's a big maybe.
Forms
- plural
- maybes
- comparative
- more maybe
- superlative
- most maybe