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• be
  be

  verb (used without object)

  to exist or live.
• Be
  Be

  beryllium.
• Bé.
  Bé.

  abbreviation

  Baumé.
• B/E
  B/E

  bill of exchange.
• be-
  be-

  a native English prefix formerly used in the formation of verbs.
• B.E.
  B.E.

  abbreviation

  Bachelor of Education.
• BE
  BE

  abbreviation

  bill of exchange
• Bé
  Bé

  abbreviation

  Baumé

be

¹ American  

[bee, bi] / bi, bɪ /

verb (used without object)

• am,
  present (1st person singular)
• are,
  present (2nd person singular),  present (plural)
• is,
  present (3rd person singular)
• was,
  past (1st person),  past (1st & 3rd person singular)
• were,
  past (2nd person singular),  past (plural),  past subjunctive
• been,
  past participle
• being
  present participle

1. to exist or live.

   Shakespeare's “To be or not to be” is the ultimate question.

2. to take place; happen; occur.

   The wedding was last week.

3. to occupy a place or position.

   The book is on the table.

4. to continue or remain as before.

   Let things be.

5. to belong; attend; befall.

   May good fortune be with you.

6. (used as a copula to connect the subject with its predicate adjective, or predicate nominative, in order to describe, identify, or amplify the subject).

   Martha is tall. John is president. This is she.

7. (used as a copula to introduce or form interrogative or imperative sentences).

   Is that right? Be quiet! Don't be facetious.

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auxiliary verb

• am,
  present (1st person singular)
• are,
  present (2nd person singular),  present (plural)
• is,
  present (3rd person singular)
• was,
  past (1st person),  past (1st & 3rd person singular)
• were,
  past (2nd person singular),  past (plural),  past subjunctive,  past (2nd person singular),  past (plural)
• been,
  past participle
• being
  present participle

1. (used with the present participle of another verb to form the progressive tense).

   I am waiting.

2. (used with the present participle or infinitive of the principal verb to indicate future action).

   She is visiting there next week. He is to see me today.

3. (used with the past participle of another verb to form the passive voice).

   The date was fixed. It must be done.

4. (used in archaic or literary constructions with some intransitive verbs to form the perfect tense).

   He is come. Agamemnon to the wars is gone.

verb (used with object)

• am,
  present (1st person singular)
• are,
  present (plural),  present (2nd person singular)
• is,
  present (3rd person singular)
• was,
  past (1st person),  past (1st & 3rd person singular)
• were
  past (2nd person singular),  past (plural)

1. Informal. to say, declare, think, or feel (usually used to introduce reported speech or thought).

   So I'm walking down my street yesterday, and I'm “Why is there a crowd in front of my house?”

Be ² American  

Symbol, Chemistry.

1. beryllium.

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Bé. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. Baumé.

---

B/E ⁴ American  

Or b.e.

1. bill of exchange.

---

be- ⁵ American  

1. a native English prefix formerly used in the formation of verbs.

   become, besiege, bedaub, befriend.

---

B.E. ⁶ American  

abbreviation

1. Bachelor of Education.

2. Bachelor of Engineering.

3. Bank of England.

4. bill of exchange.

5. Board of Education.

---

be ¹ British  

/ biː, bɪ /

verb

1. to have presence in the realm of perceived reality; exist; live

   I think, therefore I am

   not all that is can be understood

2. (used in the perfect or past perfect tenses only) to pay a visit; go

   have you been to Spain?

3. to take place; occur

   my birthday was last Thursday

4. (copula) used as a linking verb between the subject of a sentence and its noun or adjective complement or complementing phrase. In this case be expresses the relationship of either essential or incidental equivalence or identity ( John is a man; John is a musician ) or specifies an essential or incidental attribute ( honey is sweet; Susan is angry ). It is also used with an adverbial complement to indicate a relationship of location in space or time ( Bill is at the office; the dance is on Saturday )

5. (takes a present participle) forms the progressive present tense

   the man is running

6. (takes a past participle) forms the passive voice of all transitive verbs and (archaically) certain intransitive ones

   a good film is being shown on television tonight

   I am done

7. (takes an infinitive) expresses intention, expectation, supposition, or obligation

   the president is to arrive at 9.30

   you are not to leave before I say so

8. (takes a past participle) forms the perfect or past perfect tense of certain intransitive verbs of motion, such as go or come

   the last train is gone

9. the facts concerning (something) are of no importance

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be- ² British  

prefix

1. (from nouns) to surround completely; cover on all sides

   befog

2. (from nouns) to affect completely or excessively

   bedazzle

3. (from nouns) to consider as or cause to be

   befool

   befriend

4. (from nouns) to provide or cover with

   bejewel

5. (from verbs) at, for, against, on, or over

   bewail

   berate

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BE ³ British  

abbreviation

1. bill of exchange

2. (in the US) Board of Education

3. Bachelor of Education

4. Bachelor of Engineering

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Bé ⁴ British  

abbreviation

1. Baumé

---

Be ⁵ British  

symbol

1. beryllium

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B/E ⁶ British  

abbreviation

1. bill of exchange

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be ⁷ British  

abbreviation

1. Belgium

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be Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing be

• let be

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Grammar

See me.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• being
  present
• been
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• am
  simple
• are
  simple
• is
  simple
• have been
  perfect
• has been
  perfect
• am being
  progressive
• are being
  progressive
• is being
  progressive
• have been being
  perfect progressive
• has been being
  perfect progressive

Past

• was
  simple
• were
  simple
• had been
  perfect
• was being
  progressive
• were being
  progressive
• had been being
  perfect progressive

Future

• will be
  simple
• will have been
  perfect
• will be being
  progressive
• will have been being
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of be¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English been, Old English bēon “to be” (akin to Old Frisian, Old High German bim, German bin, Old Saxon bium, biom “(I) am,” Old English, Old High German, Old Saxon būan, Old Norse būa “reside,” Latin fuī “(I) have been,“ Greek phy- “grow, become,” Old Irish boí “(he) was,” Sanskrit bhávati “(he) becomes, is,” Lithuanian búti “to be,” Old Church Slavonic byti, Persian būdan “to be”); see am, is, are ¹, was, were

Origin of be-⁵

Middle English, Old English, unstressed form of bī by

Explanation

To be is to exist, or to take place. As Hamlet best put it: "To be or not to be, that is the question." The verb be is one of the most frequently used words in English, and it often takes the form of am, are, were, or was. When you make plans to meet someone later, you could say, "I'll be on the steps in front of the library," and when you talk about your goals, you might confess, "I want to be a movie star." It's a verb with a complicated history, stemming mainly from the Old English bēon, "be, exist, or happen."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

be Be Bé. B/E be- B.E. BE Bé am are is was were been being

It established the General Accounting Office, specifying that it “shall be independent of the executive departments.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

The critical constraint would be on the president’s power to remove Fed governors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

That is why some New Yorkers who have called the city home for years, or even decades, may have received a “You may be subject to…” tax notice.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Easy money being the engine of both, they were destined to be together.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

These microscopic animals might be marvels of nature, but no doctor suspects that they have anything to do with disease, let alone infections.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

The musician's journey up Kilimanjaro has been captured in an upcoming Netflix documentary, Aitch: Don't Be Afraid.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

Aitch: Don't Be Afraid is available to stream on Netflix from 26 July.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

Be prepared for that and have your answer ready.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

“As the manager of my first campaign for Congress in 1987, he brought his unmatched strategic mind to help create and amplify my slogan: A Voice That Will Be Heard.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

“Now hurry. Be quick, before the conductor comes!”

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

The solution is then evaporated, the residue dissolved in 600 c.c. hot water, and the chromium precipitated with a 40° Bé. solution of caustic soda.

From Synthetic Tannins by Georg Grasser

Neradol D is a viscous liquid, measuring about 33° Bé., which is similar to extracts of natural tannins.

From Synthetic Tannins by Georg Grasser

Such experiments may be done, for instance, by preparing 2° Bé. solutions of each extract and then mixing them in proportions of, say, 10:90, 20:80, 30:70, etc.

From Synthetic Tannins by Georg Grasser

Above 10° Bé. the effect is more that of an acid with concentrations below 10° Bé.—the only ones of technical importance—however, no ill-effects may be observed.

From Synthetic Tannins by Georg Grasser

The partly neutralised 2° Bé. solution of this product yielded a reddish-grey coloured leather, the qualities of which were very similar to that yielded by Neradol D. 3.

From Synthetic Tannins by Georg Grasser

Khoury’s father, Amin J. Khoury, founded Wellington, Florida-based B/E Aerospace, an aircraft cabin interiors maker that was bought in 2017 for more than $6 billion.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 6, 2022

Rockwell Collins, a longtime supplier of radio and flight displays to Boeing, last year bought B/E Aerospace, the largest cabin-equipment supplier.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 16, 2018

Numerous phone calls requesting an interview with executives from B/E Aerospace, which has its headquarters in Wellington, Fla., were not returned.

From New York Times ● Dec. 23, 2016

“In today’s environment, the goal is to fit as many seats in the cabin as possible,” said Tom Plant, the general manager for seating products at B/E Aerospace, one of the top airplane seat makers.

From New York Times ● Dec. 23, 2013

B/E Aerospace, the world's biggest supplier of aircraft interior products, is expected to report higher quarterly results mostly in line with expectations, helped by growth in its $1 billion non-discretionary consumables business.

From Reuters ● Oct. 18, 2010

What rotten luck for you that “The Grapes of Wrath” should not only have come out be- fore your book was submitted but should have so swept the country!

From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2024

Offering participants a discreet way to alert the moderator to their discomfort- for example by giving them remote buttons they can use to 'bring the researcher in' if need be- may be effective.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 15, 2023

Buteglute has given him his chance to be- to be- the most famous-ah- to do a good thing.

From Scientific American ● Apr. 20, 2023

My original encounter from the store got in line for her pic next, then be- came the photographer for the rest of the meet-and-greet.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 22, 2019

I think of my dreams when I was a little girl, dreams of be- coming a rich indi'gena with long hair wrapped in a fancy ribbon.

From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau

Earlier Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-installed head of Crimea, said air defence systems had been in action around a Kerch shipyard named after B.E.

From Reuters ● Nov. 4, 2023

"It was back in 2019 and I was sitting in my box room at home, quietly sulking and downloading application forms for jobs in PR," said the 48-year-old, who writes under the pen name B.E.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2023

The thriller is adapted from a book of the same name by B.E.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 14, 2023

It also features five commissions from the WNO: Atlanta composer B.E.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 12, 2022

Instead it was his father who did the talking, saying that the man had gone to St. Xavier’s, and then B.E.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Shares of BE Semiconductor Industries, the Dutch supplier of semiconductor assembly equipment, are down 1.6%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026

Album cuts like “$T. LOSER” and “WHAT IS IT LIKE, TO BE LIKED?” find Slayyyter caught up comparing herself to other artists.

From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026

The tech-heavy Dutch AEX fell 0.3% as consumer-facing stocks slid, though BE Semiconductor rose 1.5%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026

YOU HAD TO BE HERE: For an hour after Argentina’s victory over Greece, more than a hundred Argentine fans remained at Foxboro Stadium, dancing and singing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 1994

DO NOT BE AFRAID, Pet replied, and then it turned to Hibiscus and the rest of its wings snapped out into fullness.

From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi

Bé Ù, a Vietnamese restaurant in Virgil Village, will be open Friday, but owner Uyên Lê said that’s because she does her community organizing work through the business.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 29, 2026

Last summer, Uyên Lê, owner and chef at Bé Ù Vietnamese Street Food in East Hollywood, was scraping out her Sriracha bottles and trying to ration her supply.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2023

Bé Ù offered free meals in exchange for Huy Fong Sriracha sauce, and it got around 300 bottles during the promotion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2023

Opened last year, Le Grand Bé is a big, splashy, four-star addition to St-Malo’s historical walled center.

From New York Times ● Aug. 22, 2019

With the reunion of the Russian divisions at Nossi Bé, Madagascar, January 9, 1905, came news of the fall of Port Arthur.

From A History of Sea Power by William Oliver Stevens

I am thoroughly unimpressed by this sudden, performative show of fire safety.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

"I believe we can achieve very good things this season and I am looking forward to meeting the players and head coach. I will give my best."

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

I don’t necessarily go in feeling like I’m gonna write about anything in particular, but I am really curious and interested in what that moment holds, and lyrically, if it flows.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

“Growing up in Taiwan, I am Taiwanese. But I am also Chinese—my father is from China, and we share the same language and cultural heritage on both sides.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

He takes my hand and guides me up, so that I am standing before him.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

“As AI compute workloads increase in both speed and bandwidth, data-center architects are turning to optical links as a primary means of connectivity,” he said.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

Nvidia’s statement concedes that “once released, the weights are beyond the original developer’s control, and modified versions are difficult to trace or reverse”—then brushes this concern aside.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

The food-safety scare has arrived as chains throw more discounts at consumers who are scrutinizing their budgets more carefully due to higher costs of living.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

Nationwide about 52 million students are eligible for the scholarships, or more than 90% of the K-12 population, according to a recent study from Patrick Graff of the American Federation for Children.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Gertie Hornbostel and the other prisoners at the Santo Tomas internment camp are desperate for news.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

“Customer demand is accelerating as enterprise adoption broadens and we continue to deepen our technology platform.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

Ms. Bridgers’s romantic partner is comedian and musician Bo Burnham, and the explosive “Bobby” is one of several songs that seem drawn from their relationship.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

For Oracle, the “top priority” is maintaining an investment-grade credit rating, Deutsche Bank analyst Brad Zelnick wrote in a note last week.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

“The Governor’s Waltz” is a dreamy folk track about the stress of performance and desire for connection, with ghostly backing vocals and a piano that sounds like a series of tuned bells.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

She is happy, content, and comfortable, but another feeling twists underneath.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

The food-safety issues have included the nation’s largest-ever cyclospora outbreak, which was linked to shredded iceberg lettuce.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

That act passed with overwhelming legislative support—335-3 in the House and a voice vote in the Senate—and was signed by President Warren Harding.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

The FactSet consensus was for $987.7 million in revenue.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

Ms. Bridgers’s influence was felt despite the paucity of new material.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Gertie’s father didn’t approve of Hans because he was enlisted in the US Marines and there were too many pitfalls to military life.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

For Cava’s second quarter — which ended on July 12, just as concerns about the outbreak were growing — revenue jumped 31.3% year over year to $365.4 million, above FactSet estimates for $360 million.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting 92 cents a share.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

The court records were made public this week by the ACLU, which is part of a coalition seeking to bar an “ongoing campaign of suspicionless and discriminatory detentive stops” in the Central District of California.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Nor were they told of the threat that prompted the switcheroo.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

There’s no telling what would fly out of Aunt J’s mouth if she were here.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

Super Micro has been working its way back into Wall Street’s good graces, and its latest earnings report furthered the cause.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

The fallout from open models has been limited because they aren’t yet smart enough to cause widespread damage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

More recently, a salmonella outbreak has been linked to jalapenos.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

The press corps, which had been left on the decoy Presidential plane, understandably is up in arms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Baguio is home of the Philippine Military Academy and Camp John Hay, an American base that has been overtaken by the Japanese.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Optical stocks have recaptured investors’ interest lately, but Lumentum’s blowout earnings report is being met with a ho-hum response.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

The Department of Finance deliberately cast a wider net because it said it was sometimes unable to confirm whether a home was being used as a primary residence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Hours after the earthquake hit Pereira, a resident of the Parque Industrial neighborhood, near the city's airport, told BBC Mundo about the shock being experienced in the area.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

A community meeting is being planned by Universal and the Toluca Lake Homeowners Assn., stated the post.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

The monkey got on his shoulder and started whispering, without being asked any questions.

From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios