might/may as well

idiom

1
used to say that something should be done or accepted because it cannot be avoided or because there is no good reason not to do it
You might as well tell them the truth.
We may as well begin now.
(informal) "Should we start now?" "Might as well."
2
used to say that something else could have been done with the same result
The party was so dull that I might (just) as well have stayed home.

Examples of might/may as well in a Sentence

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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.
By the time Francis exited, the crowd might as well have been on top of him, encircling the mound. Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 15 June 2025 Our front door might as well have been a revolving one. Ivy Odom, Southern Living, 11 June 2025 That’s a straightforward but wonderfully satisfying template, and the kind of thing that’s become a rarity in a genre where the main character’s eccentricities might as well be a shorthand that distinguishes one show from another. Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 11 June 2025 If the dialogue is already written for you in a bad review, might as well take it. Jordan Hoffman, EW.com, 10 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for might/may as well

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Cite this Entry

“Might/may as well.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/might%2Fmay%20as%20well. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.

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