may

1. (obsolete, intransitive) To be strong; to have power (over).intransitiveno-past-participleno-present-participleobsolete

2. (obsolete, auxiliary) To be able; can.Examples: "But many times[…]we give way to passions we may resist and will not."auxiliaryno-past-participleno-present-participleobsolete

3. (intransitive, poetic) To be able to go.Examples: "O weary night, O long and tedious night, Abate thy houres, shine comforts from the East, That I may backe to Athens by day-light […]."intransitiveno-past-participleno-present-participlepoetic

4. (modal auxiliary verb, defective) To have permission to, be allowed. Used in granting permission and in questions to make polite requests.Examples: "you may smoke outside;   may I sit there?"Synonyms: can, could, mightauxiliarydefectivemodalno-past-participleno-present-participle

5. (modal auxiliary verb, defective) Granting the admissibility of a supposition, in a way that can be semantically either subjunctive or indicative.Examples: "he may be lying;   Schrödinger's cat may or may not be in the box"; "Sam may be intelligent, but he isn't wise. [This speaker does not know with certainty whether Sam is intelligent, but the speaker allows the possibility.]"; "A female crocodile may lay up to forty eggs. [Typical occurrence.]"Synonyms: could, mightauxiliarydefectivemodalno-past-participleno-present-participle

6. (modal auxiliary verb, defective) Granting the admissibility of a supposition, in a way that can be semantically either subjunctive or indicative.Examples: "You may be my boss, but that doesn't mean you can insult me."; "A: Sigh. I'm bummed that Stephen Hawking died. B: Well, he may have died, but he's still alive in our hearts. [This speaker does not doubt that Stephen has died; nonetheless, the verb inflection is not different.]"; "Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return."Synonyms: mightauxiliarydefectivemodalno-past-participleno-present-participle