What does used-to-be mean?
Used-to-be means (colloquial) Former, ex-..
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Pronunciation varies by accent · adjective
(colloquial) Former, ex-..
1888, Daily Evening Bulletin, Maysville, Kentucky, 3 September, 1888, Milburn Ellis, a used-to-be resident of this place, but now of the Grasshopper Country […] is visiting relatives here.
2004, Adrienne Rich, “Dislocations: Seven Scenarios,” 4, in The School Among the Ruins: Poems 2000-2004, New York: Norton, p. 88, her / orders don’t necessarily / get obeyed / because / the government / is paying / and the / used-to-be / warriors / are patients
Said it was a spittoon just like his used-to-be bossman used to have in his bank up there in Atlanta.
“The mudflow destroyed houses on the eastern edge of my used-to-be recruiting area,” said [Staff Sergeant] David Orman of the Longview [recruiting station].
[…] I love her but something’s not there. I don’t even know if it’s love anymore. Maybe it’s just a used-to-be love.
Use used-to-be when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.
Used-to-be means (colloquial) Former, ex-..
The closest synonym depends on the sentence and intended sense.
The opposite depends on the specific sense.
1888, Daily Evening Bulletin, Maysville, Kentucky, 3 September, 1888, Milburn Ellis, a used-to-be resident of this place, but now of the Grasshopper Country […] is visiting relatives here.
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