may as well en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Meanings
-
(idiomatic, no-past-participle, no-present-participle) Used to express reluctance, to express that if one hypothetical or possible action happened, it would not make any notable difference.
They continued their inspection in silence, but at last the Doctor shrugged and said they may as well go back.
1945, Roger S. Vreeland, The Mad Dancers:For me to love you now Would be the sweetest thing 'Twould make me sing Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind
1965, Donovan, Catch the Wind:So my plan is to build an AI-driven swarm of drones, each of which tries to fly itself into a human's head. Now, why? Because the mechanical uprising has to start somewhere, may as well be me.
2018 December 11, Michael Reeves, 00:40 from the start, in Head Hunting Drone Swarm, via YouTube:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| might as well | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| may as well | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic |
Deriveds
one may as well hang for a sheep as a lamb