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What is "be" in English? Definition and Explanations

Updated: 25-10-2024 by Wikilanguages.net
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What does be mean in English? Meaning of be definition and abbreviation with examples.

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What is "be" in English? Definition and Explanations

Meaning of "be": a light strong brittle grey toxic bivalent metallic element

Noun

  • Meaning: a light strong brittle grey toxic bivalent metallic element
  • Synonyms: atomic number 4 be beryllium glucinium
  • Hypernyms: metal metallic element

    • Meaning of "be": have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)

    Verb

  • Meaning: have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)
  • Example: John is rich This is not a good answer
  • Synonyms: be
  • Hyponyms: abound accept account account for act add up adhere adorn amount answer appear bake balance be be given be well beat beautify bedevil befuddle begin belong body forth boil breathe broil buy buzz clean cohere come come in for come in handy compact compare comprise confound confuse connect consist contain continue coruscate cost count cover curve cut cut across deck decorate define delimit delimitate delineate depend deserve disaccord disagree discombobulate discord distribute diverge draw drown embellish embody encounter end enter fall feel figure fit footle fox fuddle gape go grace gravitate hail hang hang around head head up hold hoodoo hum hurt impend incarnate incline interrelate iridesce jumble kill lallygag lean lend let go lie linger litter loaf loiter lollygag look lounge lubricate lurk make make sense matter measure merit mess about mill about mill around mingle moon about moon around mope need number object osculate owe pack pay point press promise prove put out rage range rank rate recognize relate remain represent require rest retard run run into rut scintillate seem seethe sell shine sparkle specify squat stagnate stand stand by start stay stay on stick stick by stink substantiate subtend suck suffer suit swim swing take tarry tend terminate test throw total translate transplant trim turn out turn up twist underlie want wash weigh wind work yaw yawn

    • Meaning of "be": be identical to; be someone or something

    Verb

  • Meaning: be identical to; be someone or something
  • Example: The president of the company is John Smith This is my house
  • Synonyms: be

    • Meaning of "be": occupy a certain position or area; be somewhere

    Verb

  • Meaning: occupy a certain position or area; be somewhere
  • Example: Where is my umbrella? The toolshed is in the back What is behind this behavior?
  • Synonyms: be
  • Hyponyms: attend belong center on come continue cover dwell extend extend to face fill follow go go to inhabit keep one's distance keep one's eyes off keep one's hands off lead lie live occupy pass poke out populate reach reach out rest run sit sit around stand back stay away straddle stretch stretch along touch

    • Meaning of "be": have an existence, be extant

    Verb

  • Meaning: have an existence, be extant
  • Example: Is there a God?
  • Synonyms: be exist
  • Hyponyms: coexist come consist distribute dwell endanger flow hold imperil indwell inhabit jeopardise jeopardize kick about kick around knock about lie lie in menace obtain peril preexist prevail threaten

    • Meaning of "be": happen, occur, take place

    Verb

  • Meaning: happen, occur, take place
  • Example: I lost my wallet; this was during the visit to my parents' house There were two hundred people at his funeral There was a lot of noise in the kitchen
  • Synonyms: be

    • Meaning of "be": be identical or equivalent to

    Verb

  • Meaning: be identical or equivalent to
  • Example: One dollar equals 1,000 rubles these days!
  • Synonyms: be equal
  • Hyponyms: agree check correspond equate fit gibe jibe match represent stand for tally translate
  • Antonyms: differ

    • Meaning of "be": form or compose

    Verb

  • Meaning: form or compose
  • Example: This money is my only income The stone wall was the backdrop for the performance These constitute my entire belonging The children made up the chorus This sum represents my entire income for a year These few men comprise his entire army
  • Synonyms: be comprise constitute make up represent
  • Hyponyms: compose constitute fall into fall under form make pose present range straddle supplement

    • Meaning of "be": work in a specific place, with a specific subject, or in a specific function

    Verb

  • Meaning: work in a specific place, with a specific subject, or in a specific function
  • Example: He is a herpetologist She is our resident philosopher
  • Synonyms: be follow
  • Hyponyms: cox vet

    • Meaning of "be": represent, as of a character on stage

    Verb

  • Meaning: represent, as of a character on stage
  • Example: Derek Jacobi was Hamlet
  • Synonyms: be embody personify
  • Hyponyms: body exemplify personify represent
  • Hypernyms: represent stand for symbolise symbolize typify

    • Meaning of "be": spend or use time

    Verb

  • Meaning: spend or use time
  • Example: I may be an hour
  • Synonyms: be
  • Hypernyms: occupy take use up

    • Meaning of "be": have life, be alive

    Verb

  • Meaning: have life, be alive
  • Example: Our great leader is no more My grandfather lived until the end of war
  • Synonyms: be live

    • Meaning of "be": to remain unmolested, undisturbed, or uninterrupted -- used only in infinitive form

    Verb

  • Meaning: to remain unmolested, undisturbed, or uninterrupted -- used only in infinitive form
  • Example: let her be
  • Synonyms: be
  • Hypernyms: remain rest stay

    • Meaning of "be": be priced at

    Verb

  • Meaning: be priced at
  • Example: These shoes cost $100
  • Synonyms: be cost
  • Hyponyms: knock back put back set back
  • Hypernyms: be
  • Adjective: (intransitive, now literary) To exist; to have real existence. 1526, Bible, tr. William Tyndale, Matthew 2: Rachel wepynge ffor her chyldren, and wolde nott be comforted because they were not. c. 1600, William Shakespeare, Hamlet: To be, or not to be, that is the Question […]. 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.12: 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. 1643, Thomas Browne, Religio Medici, II.2: There is surely a peece of Divinity in us, something that was before the Elements, and owes no homage unto the Sun. 2004, Richard Schickel, "Not Just an African Story", Time, 13 December: 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."1526, Bible, tr. William Tyndale, Matthew 2: Rachel wepynge ffor her chyldren, and wolde nott be comforted because they were not.c. 1600, William Shakespeare, Hamlet: To be, or not to be, that is the Question […].1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.12: 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.1643, Thomas Browne, Religio Medici, II.2: There is surely a peece of Divinity in us, something that was before the Elements, and owes no homage unto the Sun.2004, Richard Schickel, "Not Just an African Story", Time, 13 December: 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."With there as dummy subject: to exist. 1598, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice: 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. 1817, Jane Austen, Persuasion: "There is a sort of domestic enjoyment to be known even in a crowd, and this you had." 2011, Mark Sweney, The Guardian, 6 July: "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.1598, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice: 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.1817, Jane Austen, Persuasion: "There is a sort of domestic enjoyment to be known even in a crowd, and this you had."2011, Mark Sweney, The Guardian, 6 July: "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.(intransitive) To occupy a place. The cup is on the table.(intransitive) To occur, to take place. When will the meeting be?(intransitive, without predicate) elliptical form of "be here", "go to and return from" or similar. The postman has been today, but my tickets have still not yet come. I have been to Spain many times.(transitive, copulative) Used to name the age of a subject. I'm 20.(transitive, copulative) Used to indicate that the subject and object are the same. Ignorance is bliss.(transitive, copulative, mathematics) Used to indicate that the values on either side of an equation are the same. 3 times 5 is fifteen.(transitive, copulative) Used to indicate that the subject plays the role of the predicate nominal. François Mitterrand was president of France from 1981 to 1995.(transitive, copulative) Used to connect a noun to an adjective that describes it. The sky is blue.(transitive, copulative) Used to indicate that the subject has the qualities described by a noun or noun phrase. The sky is a deep blue today.(transitive, auxiliary) Used to form the passive voice. The dog was drowned by the boy. 1995, C. K. Ogden, Psyche: An Annual General and Linguistic Psychology 1920-1952, C. K. Ogden, ISBN 9780415127790, page 13: 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 9780415127790, page 13: Study courses of Esperanto and Ido have been broadcast.(transitive, auxiliary) Used to form the continuous forms of various tenses. The woman is walking. I shall be writing to you soon. We liked to chat while we were eating. 1995, C. K. Ogden, Psyche: An Annual General and Linguistic Psychology 1920-1952, C. K. Ogden, ISBN 9780415127790, page 13: 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 9780415127790, page 13: 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.(archaic) Used to form the perfect aspect with certain intransitive verbs, most of which indicate motion. Often still used for "to go" 1606,Macbeth by William Shakespeare: They are not yet come back. (instead of the modern They have not yet come back.) 1850, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, The Blessed Damozel, ll.67-68 ‘I wish that he were come to me, / For he will come,’ she said. Matthew 28:6 (various translations, from the King James Version of 1611 to Revised Version of 1881): He is not here; for he is risen […]. 1922, A. E. Housman, Last Poems XXV, l.13: The King with half the East at heel is marched from lands of morning;1606,Macbeth by William Shakespeare: They are not yet come back. (instead of the modern They have not yet come back.)1850, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, The Blessed Damozel, ll.67-68 ‘I wish that he were come to me, / For he will come,’ she said.Matthew 28:6 (various translations, from the King James Version of 1611 to Revised Version of 1881): He is not here; for he is risen […].1922, A. E. Housman, Last Poems XXV, l.13: The King with half the East at heel is marched from lands of morning;(transitive, auxiliary) Used to form future tenses, especially the future periphrastic. I am to leave tomorrow. I would drive you, were I to obtain a car.Used to link a subject to a count or measurement. This building is three hundred years old. It is almost eight. I am 75 kilograms.(With since) used to indicate passage of time since the occurrence of an event. It has been three years since my grandmother died. (similar to My grandmother died three years ago, but emphasizes the intervening period) It had been six days since his departure, when I received a letter from him.(often impersonal) Used to indicate weather, air quality, or the like. It is hot in Arizona, but it is not usually humid. Why is it so dark in here?

    • Synonyms:

    breathe, do, last, prevail, move, remain, rest, stay, persist, live, continue, subsist, stand, act, survive, inhabit, hold, obtain, abide, endure, go on, be alive, have being, have place, transpire, befall, occur, come about, come to pass, take place,

    Antonyms:

    cease, discontinue, refuse, reject, forsake, idle, lose, pass, stop, depart, go, leave, give up, quit, die, halt,

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