was

American  

[wuhz, woz, wuhz] / wʌz, wɒz, wəz /

verb

1. first and third person singular past indicative of be.

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was British  

/ wɒz, wəz /

verb

1. the past tense (indicative mood) of be 1

2. not_standard a form of the subjunctive mood used in place of were, esp in conditional sentences

   if the film was to be with you, would you be able to process it?

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Etymology

Origin of was

First recorded before 950; Middle English; Old English wæs, past tense singular of wesan “to be”; cognate with Old Frisian, Old High German, Gothic was, Old Norse var; cf. wassail

Example Sentences

In 2020, I was DJing on the internet, live streaming and I was DJing to calm people down from thinking they’re going to die in the apocalypse.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

They have so many meaningful songs like “Shining Star,” while “September” is a leftover that was a filler song from a greatest hits album that became a career-defining song.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

The single’s accompanying album, “Good News for People Who Love Bad News,” was an overall pop-forward collection that signified the group’s commercial breakthrough and even earned two Grammy nominations in 2005.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

But it wasn’t long ago that the Pacific Coast Highway was closed to incoming traffic, and the area around the pier where Zegna hosted the show was inaccessible.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

Under the microscope lens, Hooke saw that the tissue inside a cork tree was made up of rows of tiny, boxlike structures.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman