I would much rather go out for a meal than stay in and watch TV.

would 是情态动词，在这里表示"愿意、倾向于"的意思，常用于表达偏好或假设情况。 rather 是副词，意思是"宁愿、更愿意"，常与 would 搭配使用表示偏好选择。 would rather 是一个固定搭配，表示"宁愿...也不..."，用来比较两种选择时表达更倾向于前者。