- had better
- or had best phrasal would be wise to
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
had better
Look at other dictionaries:
Had better — Better Bet ter, a.; compar. of Good. [OE. betere, bettre, and as adv. bet, AS. betera, adj., and bet, adv.; akin to Icel. betri, adj., betr, adv., Goth. batiza, adj., OHG. bezziro, adj., baz, adv., G. besser, adj. and adv., bass, adv., E. boot,… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Had better — Had Had (h[a^]d), imp. & p. p. of {Have}. [OE. had, hafde, hefde, AS. h[ae]fde.] See {Have}. [1913 Webster] {Had as lief}, {Had rather}, {Had better}, {Had as soon}, etc., with a nominative and followed by the infinitive without to, are well… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
had\ better — • had better • had best informal Should; must. I had better leave now, or I ll be late. If you want to stay out of trouble, you had best not make any mistakes. Jim decided he had better do his homework instead of playing ball … Словарь американских идиом
had better — ► had better would find it wiser to. Main Entry: ↑better … English terms dictionary
had better — phrasal or had best 1. : would be wise to used with the infinitive without to had better try slow walks to start building up his strength 2. : should for one s own welfare had better pay what the court tells him to * * * … Useful english dictionary
had better — When the London summit meets, foreign ministers better stiffen their sinews (Guardian). In conditional sentences, the required expression is had better. The error, more common in America than in Britain, is seen again in this advertisement in … Dictionary of troublesome word
had better — or[had best] {informal} Should; must. * /I had better leave now, or I ll be late./ * /If you want to stay out of trouble, you had best not make any mistakes. / * /Jim decided he had better do his homework instead of playing ball./ … Dictionary of American idioms
had better — or[had best] {informal} Should; must. * /I had better leave now, or I ll be late./ * /If you want to stay out of trouble, you had best not make any mistakes. / * /Jim decided he had better do his homework instead of playing ball./ … Dictionary of American idioms
had better — should or must. I thought I had better destroy the list so that no one else would see it. You d better get moving if you want to catch your train. Usage notes: had is sometimes not said: If we have a problem you better hope somebody is there to… … New idioms dictionary
had better, had rather — Had better is widely used in giving advice or issuing a mild threat: We had better get started before midnight. You had better apologize to me for that remark. The phrase had best can be substituted for had better in such expressions. Neither is… … Dictionary of problem words and expressions
better / had better — Had better is the correct form, used when giving advice that hints at an undesirable consequence if not followed: You had better go to the doctor. Don t leave out have … Confused words
