had better

phrase

variants or had best
: would be wise to
had better go to bed

Examples of had better 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.
Few Vikings players have had better training camps than those two. — Alec Lewis, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026 New research found that people who took a daily multivitamin had better functional health than those who took a placebo. — Jamie Ducharme, HEALTH, 25 Aug. 2026 Sanders, who had a higher completion percentage than Watson but threw one more interception, had better stay ready. — Armando Salguero Outkick, FOXNews.com, 24 Aug. 2026 And in a study of a third group of over 690 participants, super movers had better cognition and lower prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. — Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for had better

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of had better was in the 15th century

Rhymes for had better

See All Rhymes for had better

Browse Nearby Words

hadarim
had better
hadbot
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Had better.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/had%20better. Accessed 29 Aug. 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!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of kith

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

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

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

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 28

Why do we say 'break a leg'?
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
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
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All