ought to

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It starts from a belief that these people are operating in a world we don’t understand, and that we ought to leave alone, far from our base everyday politics and civic concerns.

From Slate • May 13, 2026

The rally ought to have legs as long as chip companies continue to raise their earnings-per-share estimates at a time when investors are hopeful the Iran war could end, he said.

From Barron's • May 11, 2026

“In retrospect maybe they ought to have tightened a little sooner and a little more,” Binder said.

From MarketWatch • May 10, 2026

After being unceremoniously dispatched, Turner said, “If I’m smart enough to save $11 million to buy the team, I ought to be smart enough to manage it.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

And he understood more in that short snippet than he ought to have.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman