bode well

phrase

: to show or suggest that future developments or events will be good or favorable : to be a sign of good things to come
… the news … does not bode well for our future standard of living.—Lester C. Thurow

Examples of bode well in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Their dainty, no-frills look bodes well for summer packing since they can be worn with everything from billowy dresses to denim cutoffs. — Kyra Surgent, InStyle, 4 July 2026 Chloë Sevigny, Regina Hall, D’Arcy Carden, and Gemma Chan are the friends, which bodes well, and Timothy Olyphant pops up as an old boyfriend. — Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 30 June 2026 Federal, state and local legislators have an opportunity to address much of this by creating data privacy and AI systems compliance safeguards and requiring transparency, but in my view, governance efforts to date don’t bode well. — Anne Toomey McKenna, The Conversation, 30 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1661, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bode well was in 1661

Rhymes for bode well

See All Rhymes for bode well

Browse Nearby Words

bodewash
bode well
bodge
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bode well.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bode%20well. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All