Maybe Meaning, Usage, and Examples

Meaning 1：possibly / perhaps (maybe)

maybe 🔊

/ˈmeɪbi/

adv.

Used to say something could happen or be true, but you are not sure.

Person holding umbrella looking at cloudy and sunny sky through window

possibly / perhaps 🔊

➕

/ˈpɑːsəbli/ or /pərˈhæps/

adv.

Used to indicate that something is possible but not certain.

📁 Category：Behaviors & Actions 🔖 Level：Beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From 'may' (modal verb) + 'be' (verb of existence).

💡 Mnemonic

Think: 'May be' -- what might possibly be.

📖 Example

I haven't checked the weather forecast yet, but maybe we can still have a picnic in the park this afternoon. 🔊 I have not checked the weather forecast yet, but it is possible that we can still have a picnic in the park this afternoon.

🔗 Collocations

maybe not – used to express doubt or possibility of negation

maybe later – possibly at a future time

maybe so – used to express tentative agreement

🔄 Synonyms

perhaps (adv.) – used to express possibility or uncertainty

possibly (adv.) – used to say that something may happen or be true

conceivably (adv.) – used to suggest something might be imagined or possible

🚫 Antonyms

definitely (adv.) – without any doubt

certainly (adv.) – used to emphasize that something is true

absolutely (adv.) – used to express total agreement or certainty

🌱 Derivatives

may (v.) – expressing possibility or permission

📖 Cultural Story

First recorded in Middle English as 'may be' (c. 1400), gradually fused into a single adverb by the 19th century.