How to Use to-be in a Sentence

to-be

adjective
  • Even the bride- and groom-to-be break up.
    — Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Add them to your to-be-read piles this month, and stay safe.
    — Gabrielle Bellot, Literary Hub, 27 Feb. 2026
  • Don’t forget a gift for any mom-to-be.
    — Christina Shepherd McGuire, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 2026
  • One of them asked my soon-to-be wife and me what our plans were.
    — Literary Hub, 23 Mar. 2026
  • Bound-to-be-bestselling thrillers?
    — Chris Hewitt, Boston Herald, 1 Mar. 2026
  • Like, a we’re-not-even-trying-to-be-light amount?
    — Kristin L. Wolfe, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
  • The soon-to-be mom wore a pink dress that hugged her baby bump.
    — Kayla Grant, People.com, 26 Aug. 2025
  • The central trio and their friends are all cast with young stars-to-be.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 9 Mar. 2026
  • Claudette tracks groom-to-be Boris to a house in Genoa.
    — Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Soon-to-be free agents are playing for contracts.
    — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 28 Mar. 2026
  • Parents-to-be are searching for names that evoke chaos.
    — Anna Halkidis, Parents, 29 May 2026
  • Having an empty to-be-read list!
    — Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 31 Oct. 2025
  • That is still to-be-determined.
    — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 20 Apr. 2026
  • The glad-to-be-there Atlanta Hawks in the first round.
    — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 30 May 2026
  • The sure-to-be-epic finale will stream May 20.
    — Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 30 Mar. 2026
  • Head to Amazon to shop even more soon-to-be spring staples.
    — Annie Blackman, InStyle, 15 Feb. 2026
  • Ready to put on your apron, light a candle, and bask in the soon-to-be fall weather?
    — Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 21 Aug. 2025
  • Ready to put on your apron, light a candle, and bask in the soon-to-be fall weather?
    — Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 23 Sep. 2025
  • That, of course, is her soon-to-be husband, McHale.
    — Tabitha Parent, PEOPLE, 21 Apr. 2026
  • Well, the soon-to-be mother of four was not a fan of this energy.
    — Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Over the years, the Pacers have seen most of the to-be rookies play.
    — Tony East, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026
  • Her soon-to-be husband waited for her where the arroyo opened to the road.
    — Literary Hub, 18 Mar. 2026
  • Now six months pregnant, the young mother-to-be hopes of having a boy.
    — Ladan Anoushfar, CNN Money, 1 Sep. 2025
  • Derek Hough may have let the cat out of the bag about his soon-to-be bundle of joy.
    — Edward Segarra, USA Today, 15 Oct. 2025
  • Ravenswood returns as the Phantom of the manor and kills the groom-to-be.
    — Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 13 Oct. 2025
  • But for the mom-to-be, that explanation doesn’t make the sting go away.
    — Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2025
  • In the meantime, here are few facts to know about Woods’ soon-to-be husband.
    — Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 26 Dec. 2025
  • The 5 move sees two soon-to-be corporate siblings join forces.
    — Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 17 June 2026
  • This isn’t the first time Kelce has discussed gift-giving with his soon-to-be wife.
    — Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 31 Dec. 2025
  • Grimeland says founders-to-be need to stop talking about their plans, and start acting on them.
    — Angelica Ang, Fortune, 20 May 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'to-be.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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