shoulda

English

Etymology

Written form of a reduction of should have.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʃʊdə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʊdə

Verb

shoulda (past subjunctive)

1. (colloquial) Contraction of should have.

   You shoulda told him the truth.

Usage notes

Like other similarly formed contractions, speakers only use shoulda to replace the modal sense of should have, i.e. where have precedes a past participle:  You shoulda gone. They do not use it to replace should followed by the verb have used lexically, e.g.  You shoulda some patience. See also gonna.

Derived terms

• woulda, coulda, shoulda

See also

• coulda
• shouldna
• should've
• woulda
• mighta
• musta