be Hear it!

be definition

be (bē; unstressed bi)

intransitive verb was or were, been, being be′·ing

Etymology: ME been, beon < OE beon: be is a defective verb with parts from three unrelated stems: 1) the IE substantive verb, base *es-, as in am, is, Sans ásmi, asti, Goth im, ist; 2) IE base *wes-, stay, remain, as in was, were, Sans vasati, (he) lingers, stays, Goth wisan, was, wēsum, remain, be; 3) IE base *bheu-, grow, become, (it) occurs, is there, L fieri, as in be, been, Sans bhávati, be, become: see bondage

auxiliary verb

  1. used with the past participle of a transitive verb to form the passive voice he will be sued
  2. Archaic used with the past participle of certain intransitive verbs to form a perfect tense Christ is risen
  3. used with the present participle of another verb to express continuation the player is running with the ball
  4. used with the present participle or infinitive of another verb to express futurity, possibility, obligation, intention, etc. he is starting next week, you are to help him
be Idioms

be off!

Archaic go away!
Be1 definition

Be

Baumé
also Bé
Be2 definition

Be

beryllium
BE definition

BE

  1. Bachelor of Education
  2. Bachelor of Engineering
  3. bill of exchange
    also be or B/E
Also, for 1 & 2, B.E.

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms be idiom

medical Be definition - medical

be Synonyms

be

v.

  1. To have being

    live, stay, be alive, exist, remain, continue, rest, endure, go on, stand, subsist, breathe, last, prevail, abide, survive, obtain, move, act, do, hold, have place, be located, occupy a position.

    Antonyms die*, disappear*, stop. *

  2. To happen

    take place, come about, transpire*, occur; see happen 2.

  3. To equal

    amount to, consist of, comprise; see equal.

  4. To mean

    signify, denote, imply; see mean 1.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

be Usage Examples

Preposition: in

  • fact: The stream that this bridge crosses is in fact the trackbed of one of the main tramways out of Oakely mine.

Object

  • time: Perhaps it is time to be nice to him after all he is not that bad really.

Used with why or when

  • why: We lack confidence at taking them, which is probably why we take " safe " penalties.

Present participle complement

  • go: Everything is going very Mills & Boon, thank you very much.

Adjective complement

  • available: Ready for School The new updated version of Ready For Schools is now available.
be usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

be quotes

Bien choisir son moment et se taire, serait-ce le seul moyen d'avoir e"  tre et habitat? To carefully choose one'smoment and keep quiet, isthis the only way one can be and live?

-Beckett, Samuel

Muss es sein? Es muss sein! Es muss sein! Must it be? It must be! It must be! 70

-Behn, Aphra ne¤  e  Amis

Waiting for the end, boys, waiting for the end. What is there to be or do? What's become of me or you?

-Empson, Sir William

be quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"be." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/be>

APA Style

be. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/be

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