13 MODAL People sometimes use may to express hopes and wishes. [FORMAL ] □ Courage seems now to have deserted him. May it quickly reappear.
14 be that as it may → see be ➋
15 may as well → see well ➌
May /me I / (Mays ) N‑VAR May is the fifth month of the year in the Western calendar. □ University examinations are held in May. □ They got married on 18 May. □ The report was published last May.
may|be ◆◆◇ /me I bi/
1 ADV You use maybe to express uncertainty, for example when you do not know that something is definitely true, or when you are mentioning something that may possibly happen in the future in the way you describe. [VAGUENESS ] □ Maybe she is in love. □ I do think about having children, maybe when I'm 40.
2 ADV You use maybe when you are making suggestions or giving advice. Maybe is also used to introduce polite requests. [POLITENESS ] □ Maybe we can go to the movies or something. □ Wait a while, maybe a few days.
3 ADV You use maybe to indicate that, although a comment is partly true, there is also another point of view that should be considered. □ Maybe there is jealousy, but I think the envy is more powerful.
4 ADV You can say maybe as a response to a question or remark, when you do not want to agree or disagree. □ 'Is she coming back?'—'Maybe. No one hears from her.'
5 ADV You use maybe when you are making a rough guess at a number, quantity, or value, rather than stating it exactly. [VAGUENESS ] □ The men were maybe a hundred feet away and coming closer.
6 ADV People use maybe to mean 'sometimes', particularly in a series of general statements about what someone does, or about something that regularly happens. □ They'll come to the bar for a year, or maybe even two.
May|day /me I de I / (Maydays ) N‑COUNT If someone in a plane or ship sends out a Mayday or a Mayday message, they send out a radio message calling for help because they are in serious difficulty. □ He raced to pick up the lifejackets while his stepmother sent out a Mayday call.
Ma y Day N‑UNCOUNT May Day is the 1st of May, which in many countries is celebrated as a public holiday, especially as one in honour of working people.
may|fly /me I fla I / (mayflies ) N‑COUNT A mayfly is an insect which lives near water and only lives for a very short time as an adult.
may|hem /me I hem/ N‑UNCOUNT You use mayhem to refer to a situation that is not controlled or ordered, when people are behaving in a disorganized, confused, and often violent way. □ Their arrival caused mayhem as crowds of refugees rushed towards them.
mayn't /me I ənt/ Mayn't is a spoken form of 'may not'.
mayo /me I oʊ/ N‑UNCOUNT Mayo is the same as mayonnaise . [INFORMAL ]
may|on|naise /me I əne I z/ N‑UNCOUNT Mayonnaise is a thick pale sauce made from egg yolks and oil. It is put on salad.
mayor ◆◇◇ /meə r , me I ə r / (mayors ) N‑COUNT The mayor of a town or city is the person who has been elected to represent it for a fixed period of time or, in some places, to run its government.
mayor|ess /meə res, me I əres/ (mayoresses )
1 N‑COUNT A woman who holds the office of mayor is sometimes referred to as a mayoress . [BRIT ]
2 N‑COUNT A mayoress is the wife of a mayor. [BRIT ]
may've /me I əv/ May've is a spoken form of 'may have', especially when 'have' is an auxiliary verb.
maze /me I z/ (mazes )
1 N‑COUNT A maze is a complex system of passages or paths between walls or hedges and is designed to confuse people who try to find their way through it, often as a form of amusement. □ The palace has extensive gardens, a maze, and tennis courts.
2 N‑COUNT A maze of streets, rooms, or tunnels is a large number of them that are connected in a complicated way, so that it is difficult to find your way through them. □ [+ of ] The children lead me through the maze of alleys to the edge of the city.
3 N‑COUNT You can refer to a set of ideas, topics, or rules as a maze when a large number of them are related to each other in a complicated way that makes them difficult to understand. □ [+ of ] The book tries to steer you through the maze of alternative therapies.
MBA /e m biː e I / (MBAs ) in AM, also use M.B.A. N‑COUNT An MBA is a master's degree in business administration. You can also refer to a person who has this degree as an MBA . MBA is an abbreviation for 'Master of Business Administration'.
MBE /e m biː iː / (MBEs ) N‑COUNT [usu sing] An MBE is a British honour that is awarded to a person by the King or Queen for a particular achievement. MBE is an abbreviation for 'Member of the Order of the British Empire'. □ He had to go to Buckingham Palace to accept an MBE from the Queen.
MBO /e m biː oʊ / N‑COUNT An MBO is the buying of a company by its managers. MBO is an abbreviation for 'management buyout'. [BUSINESS ]
MC /e m siː / (MCs ) N‑COUNT ; N‑TITLE An MC is the same as a master of ceremonies .
MD /e m diː / (MDs ) in AM, also use M.D. 1 MD is written after someone's name to indicate that they have been awarded a degree in medicine and are qualified to practise as a doctor.
2 N‑COUNT MD is an abbreviation for managing director . [mainly BRIT , BUSINESS ] □ He's going to be the MD of the Park Lane company.
me ◆◆◆ /mi, STRONG miː/ PRON A speaker or writer uses me to refer to himself or herself. Me is a first person singular pronoun. Me is used as the object of a verb or a preposition. □ He asked me to go to Cambridge with him. □ She looked up at me, smiling. USAGE me or myself?