with a will
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
A bachelor with a sister as housekeeper, he had found retirement unstimulating, and had been pleased to come back to teaching at any price, any place.
It has been an almost Darwinian process, of course, with those failing to shrug off the stereotype simply going out of business and removing themselves from the genetic pool.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review.
Common questions
What does “with a will” mean?
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
Is “with a will” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.