- maybe
- [[t]me͟ɪbi[/t]]
♦♦1) ADV: ADV with cl/group (vagueness) You use maybe to express uncertainty, for example when you do not know that something is definitely true, or when you are mentioning something that may possibly happen in the future in the way you describe.
Maybe she is in love...
Maybe he sincerely wanted to help his country...
I do think about having children, maybe when I'm 40...
Things are maybe not as good as they should be...
Bill will come on then maybe Ralph, then Bobby and Johnny doing their hits.
Syn:2) ADV: ADV with cl/group (politeness) You use maybe when you are making suggestions or giving advice. Maybe is also used to introduce polite requests.Maybe we can go to the movies or something...
Maybe you'd better tell me what this is all about...
Maybe you shouldn't eat in that restaurant anymore...
Maybe if you tell me a little about her?...
Wait a while, maybe a few days.
Syn:3) ADV: ADV cl You use maybe to indicate that, although a comment is partly true, there is also another point of view that should be considered.Maybe there is jealousy, but I think the envy is more powerful...
OK, maybe I am a failure, but, in my opinion, no more than the rest of this country.
Syn:4) ADV: ADV as reply You can say maybe as a response to a question or remark, when you do not want to agree or disagree.`Do you think that another country will step in to become the dominant military power in the region?' - `Maybe.'...
`Is she coming back?' - `Maybe. No one hears from her.'
Syn:5) ADV: ADV amount (vagueness) You use maybe when you are making a rough guess at a number, quantity, or value, rather than stating it exactly.The men were maybe a hundred feet away and coming closer.
Syn:6) ADV: ADV with cl/group People use maybe to mean `sometimes', particularly in a series of general statements about what someone does, or about something that regularly happens.They'll come to the bar for a year, or maybe even two, then they'll find another favourite spot.
English dictionary. 2008.
