ought to
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
should or is expected to
Register: neutral
Examples
There ought to be a better bus service.Nên có một dịch vụ xe buýt.
Tom and Mary know what they ought to do.Tom và Mary biết là họ cần phải làm gì.
Tatoeba sentence #35335 (CC BY 2.0 FR, tatoeba.org, retrieved 2026-07-31)
Sources & notes
Everyday learner phrase (CEFR B1); level cross-referenced from published learner lists. Definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-01; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “ought to” mean?
should or is expected to
Is “ought to” formal or informal?
ought to is generally neutral.