be

VERB · English

Experimental / limited support

Experimental coverage — measured below Partial on the number of recorded words, definitions, translations, word forms and pronunciation. Treat entries as evidence to check; meanings may be incomplete.

1. Definition: Used with past participles of verbs to form the passive voice.

   auxiliary

   No translation has been attempted for this sense.

   • The dog was saved by the boy. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
   • Study courses of Esperanto and Ido have been broadcast. 1995, C. K. Ogden, Psyche: An Annual General and Linguistic Psychology 1920-1952, C. K. Ogden, →ISBN, page 13:

2. Definition: Used with present participles of verbs to form the continuous aspect.

   No translation has been attempted for this sense.

   • The woman is walking. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
   • I shall be writing to you soon. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
   • We liked to chat while we were eating. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
   • I can't always be catering to your whimsies. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
   • In the possibility of radio uses of a constructed language — and such experiments are proving successful—vast sums of money and untold social forces may be involved. 1995, C. K. Ogden, Psyche: An Annual General and Linguistic Psychology 1920-1952, C. K. Ogden, →ISBN, page 13:

3. Definition: Used with to-infinitives of verbs to express intent, obligation, appropriateness, or relative future occurrence.

   No translation has been attempted for this sense.

   • I am to leave tomorrow. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
   • They are to stay here until I return. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
   • I'd been to've been ambassador, but fell seriously ill. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
   • How were they to know the whole exercise was a ruse? Usage example — not an attested quotation.
   • They were to have been married overseas but COVID forced a change of plans. Usage example — not an attested quotation.

4. Definition: Used with past participles of certain intransitive verbs to form the perfect aspect.

   No translation has been attempted for this sense.

   • He is finished. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
   • He is gone. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
   • He is come. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
   • They are not yet come back. c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv], page 133:
   • And he cryed mightily with a strõg voyce, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of deuils[…] 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Revelation 18:2:
   • ‘I wish that he were come to me, / For he will come,’ she said. 1850, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, The Blessed Damozel, ll.67-68:
   • He is not here; for he is risen […]. Usage example — not an attested quotation. Matthew 28:6 (various translations, from the King James Version of 1611 to Revised Version of 1881)
   • The King with half the East at heel is marched from lands of morning; Usage example — not an attested quotation. 1922, A. E. Housman, Last Poems XXV, l.13, page 51
   • His origins are become remote as is his destiny and not again in all the world’s turning will there be terrains so wild and barbarous to try whether the stuff of creation may be shaped to man’s will or whether his own heart is not another kind of clay. 1985, Cormac McCarthy, chapter I, in Blood Meridian […] , →OCLC, page 4:

5. Definition: To tend to do, often do; marks the habitual aspect.

   Caribbean · Ireland · auxiliary

   No translation has been attempted for this sense.

   • 1996, David Sheffield, Barry W. Blaustein, Tom Shadyac and Steve Oedekerk, screenplay of The Nutty Professor Women be shoppin’! You cannot stop a woman from shoppin’! Usage example — not an attested quotation.
   • Niggas be tellin' these bitches 'bout business 2020, Moneybagg Yo, Thug Cry:
   • I be fingering my pussy till my fingers turn soggy; Yeah, I love masturbation; that’s my favorite fucking hobby; I be spitting on my pussy; yeah, I gotta keep it soppy; I be gooning out in public; ain’t nobody gonna stop me. 2025, LONDON, “Soggy!”, in Soggy!:

6. Definition: To exist.

   with-dummy-subject

   No translation has been attempted for this sense.

   • There is just one woman in town who can help us. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
   • (or, dialectally:) It is just one woman in town who can help us. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
   • Some men there are loue not a gaping Pigge: / Some that are mad, if they behold a Cat: / And others, when the bag-pipe sings i’th nose, / Cannot containe their Vrine for affection. c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i], page 178:
   • "There is a sort of domestic enjoyment to be known even in a crowd, and this you had." 1817 (date written), [Jane Austen], chapter IX, in Persuasion; published in Northanger Abbey: And Persuasion. […], volume IV, London: John Murray, […], 20 December 1817 (indicated as 1818), →OCLC, page 170:
   • "There has been lots of commentary on who is staying and who is staying out and this weekend will be the real test," said one senior media buying agency executive who has pulled the advertising for one major client. 2011 July 6, Mark Sweney, The Guardian:

7. Definition: Used to declare the subject and object identical or equivalent.

   No translation has been attempted for this sense.

   • Hi, I’m Jim. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
   • 3 times 5 is fifteen. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
   • These four are the ones going to the quarter-finals. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
   • François Mitterrand was president of France from 1981 to 1995. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
   • This is how we do it. Usage example — not an attested quotation.

8. Definition: Used to indicate that a predicate nominal applies to the subject.

   No translation has been attempted for this sense.

   • Rex is a dog. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
   • A dog is an animal. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
   • Dogs are animals. Usage example — not an attested quotation.

9. Definition: Used to indicate that the subject has the qualities described by an adjective or prepositional phrase.

   No translation has been attempted for this sense.

   • The sky is blue. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
   • Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remooue this cup from me: neuerthelesse, not my will, but thine be done. 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 22:42:

10. Definition: Used to indicate that the subject has the qualities described by a noun or noun phrase.

    No translation has been attempted for this sense.

    • The sky is a deep blue today. Usage example — not an attested quotation.

11. Definition: Used to link a subject to a measurement.

    No translation has been attempted for this sense.

    • This building is three hundred years old. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
    • I am 75 kilograms. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
    • He’s about 6 feet tall. Usage example — not an attested quotation.

12. Definition: Used to state the age of a subject in years.

    No translation has been attempted for this sense.

    • I’m 20 (years old). Usage example — not an attested quotation.

13. Definition: Used to indicate the time of day.

    No translation has been attempted for this sense.

    • It is almost eight (o’clock). Usage example — not an attested quotation.
    • It’s 8:30 [read eight-thirty] in Tokyo. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
    • What time is it there? It’s night. Usage example — not an attested quotation.

14. Definition: Used to indicate passage of time since the occurrence of an event.

    No translation has been attempted for this sense.

    • It has been three years since my grandmother died. (similar to "My grandmother died three years ago", but emphasizes the intervening period) Usage example — not an attested quotation.
    • It had been six days since his departure, when I received a letter from him. Usage example — not an attested quotation.

15. Definition: Used to link two noun clauses: a day of the week, recurring date, month, or other specific time (on which the event of the main clause took place) and a period of time indicating how long ago that day was.

    past · rare · regional

    No translation has been attempted for this sense.

    • I saw her Monday was a week: I saw her a week ago last Monday (a week before last Monday). Usage example — not an attested quotation.
    • On the morning of Sunday was fortnight before Christmas: on the morning of the Sunday that was two weeks before the Sunday prior to Christmas. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
    • Miss Lardner (whom you have seen at her cousin Biddulph's) saw you at St James's church on Sunday was fortnight. 1748, [Samuel Richardson], Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume V, London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; [a]nd sold by John Osborn, […], →OCLC, page 97:
    • And so, without as much as to return home to furnish myself for such a journey, volens, nolens, they prevailed, or rather forced me to come to Dublin to confer with those colonels, and that was the last August was twelvemonth. 1770, Historical Memoirs of the Irish Rebellion, in the year 1641 […] In a letter to Walter Harris, Esq; [By John Curry.] The fourth edition, with corrections throughout the whole, and large additions, by the author, Ireland, page 186:
    • That they were present at the Election in August was Twelvemonth, at which there was the strictest Scrutiny that ever they saw in their Lives, by all the Four Candidates. 1803, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, Journals of the House of Commons, page 249:
    • Allow me to recommend some of the kipper—It was John Hay that catched it Saturday was three weeks. 1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], chapter V, in Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and Archibald Constable and Co., […], →OCLC, pages 79-80:
    • “Did there come no young woman here—very young and pretty—Friday was a fortnight, to see Dinah Morris?” 1859, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], “The Quest”, in Adam Bede […], volume III, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book fifth, page 53:
    • 'Twas there to-morrow is a week. Usage example — not an attested quotation. 1895, Miss M. E. Rope of Suffolk, quoted by Joseph Wright, in The English Dialect Dictionary, page 202
    • I killed my poor father, Tuesday was a week, for doing the like of that. 1907, John Millington Synge, The Playboy of the Western World, I, page 20:
    • Theobald Green gent dead in the Marshalsea in August was twelvemonth John Grey gent delivered out of the Marshalsea about August last by Mr. Secretary and remains in St. Mary Overies. John Jacob gent delivered out of the Marsh. the XVII of May was twelvemonth and sent to Bridewell by order of the Council. Usage example — not an attested quotation. 1920 (published), St. George Kieran Hyland, A Century of Persecution Under Tudor and Stuart Sovereigns from Contemporary Records, London, Paul, page 402, quoting an earlier document, Loosley volume 5, no. 28, "List of Prisoners: In Sir W. More's handwriting"

16. Definition: To pass or spend (time).

    No translation has been attempted for this sense.

    • and when he compares both sides, he will be some time at a loss to fix any determination. 1844, Robert Chambers, Cyclopedia of English Literature: A History, page 289:
    • The bag was crisp with ice, and with my fingerless gloves I was a bit of time unholing the buttons. But I got the flap turned back at last, and there was Ryan grey-faced and stark. 1907, C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne, McTodd, page 232:

17. Definition: To take a period of time.

    No translation has been attempted for this sense.

    • Dinner will be ten minutes. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
    • It was an hour before he returned. Usage example — not an attested quotation.

18. Definition: Used to indicate ambient conditions such as weather, light, noise or air quality.

    impersonal · often

    No translation has been attempted for this sense.

    • It is hot in Arizona, but it is not usually humid. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
    • Why is it so dark in here? Usage example — not an attested quotation.

19. Definition: To exist or behave in a certain way.

    especially · irregular

    No translation has been attempted for this sense.

    • When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. Usage example — not an attested quotation. 2006 October 9, Kristin Newman (writer), Barney Stinson (character), How I Met Your Mother, season 2, episode 1
    • "What do we do?" "We be ourselves." Usage example — not an attested quotation.
    • Just be yourself. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
    • Why is he being nice to me? Usage example — not an attested quotation.
    • Dad is taking a nap, so we're all being quiet. Usage example — not an attested quotation.

20. Definition: To exist; to have real existence, to be alive.

    literary · usually

    No translation has been attempted for this sense.

    • The Universe has no explanation: it just is. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
    • That was the week that was. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
    • This is something that was meant to be. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
    • Rachel wepynge ffor her chyldren / and wolde nott be comforted becauſe they were not. 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Matthew ij:[18], folio iij, recto:
    • To be, or not to be: that is the question: / Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, / And by opposing end them? c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii], page 265:
    • […]it were great sottishnesse, and apparent false-hood, to say, that that is which is not yet in being, or that already hath ceased from being. 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 12, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC, page 351:
    • There is surely a peece of Divinity in us, something that was before the Elements, and owes no homage unto the Sun. 1643, Thomas Browne, Religio Medici, II.2, link:
    • And after this death there is to be no resurrection. The old man of sin has ceased to be; once crucified, he lives no more. The death is utter; the end complete. 1893, Andrew Martin Fairbairn, Christ in the Centuries, and Other Sermons, 2nd edition, volume 12, E.P. Dutton & Company, page 116:
    • This parrot is no more! It has ceased to be! It's expired and gone to meet its maker! This is a late parrot! It's a stiff! Bereft of life, it rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed it to the perch it would be pushing up the daisies! 1969 December 7, Monty Python, “Full Frontal Nudity, Dead Parrot sketch”, in Monty Python's Flying Circus, spoken by Mr Praline (John Cleese):
    • The genial hotel manager of the past is no more. Now owner of a trucking concern and living in Belgium, Rusesabagina says the horrors he witnessed in Rwanda "made me a different man." 2004 December 13, Richard Schickel, “Not Just an African Story”, in Time:

21. Definition: To remain undisturbed in a certain state or situation.

    No translation has been attempted for this sense.

    • Let them be for a few hours. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
    • Leave us be until the guests arrive. Usage example — not an attested quotation.

22. Definition: To occupy a place.

    No translation has been attempted for this sense.

    • The cup is on the table. Usage example — not an attested quotation.

23. Definition: To occur, to take place.

    No translation has been attempted for this sense.

    • When will the meeting be? Usage example — not an attested quotation.

24. Definition: Elliptical form of "be here", "go to and return from" or similar, also extending to certain other senses of "go".

    No translation has been attempted for this sense.

    • The postman has been today, but my tickets have still not yet come. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
    • I have been to Spain many times. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
    • We've been about twenty miles. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
    • I have terrible constipation – I haven't been for several days. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
    • I’ve been into town this morning. Usage example — not an attested quotation.

No paradigm has been compiled for this word yet.

Etymology: From Middle English been (“to be”). See below for more. Further etymology of be and its conjugated forms The various forms have three separate origins, which were mixed together at various times in the history of English. * The forms beginning with b- come from Old English bēon (“to be, become”), from Proto-Germanic *beuną (“to be, exist, come to be, become”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH-yé-ti (“to grow, become, come into being, appear”), from the root *bʰuH-. In particular: ** Now-dialectal use of been as an infinitive of be is either from Middle English been (“to be”) or an extension of the past participle. ** Now-obsolete use of been as a plural present tense (meaning "are") is from Middle English been, be (present plural of been (“to be”), with the -n leveled in from the past and subjunctive; compare competing forms aren/are). ** Use of been as a past participle is from Middle English been, ybeen, from Old English ġebēon. * The forms beginning with w- come from the aforementioned Old English bēon, which shared its past tense with the verb wesan, from Proto-West Germanic *wesan, from Proto-Germanic *wesaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wes- (“to reside”). * The remaining forms (am, are, is) are also from Old English wesan (“to be”), Proto-West Germanic *wesan, from Proto-Germanic *wesaną, the present tense of which comes from Proto-Indo-European *h₁és-ti, from the root *h₁es-.

No related word is recorded for this word.