Synonyms

been

American

[bin, ben] / bɪn, bɛn /

verb

past participle of be.

been British

/ biːn, bɪn /

verb

the past participle of be 1

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It’s a time capsule of the music that I’ve been inspired by, from yacht music to alternative rock to funk.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

Anthropic has been on a nice little run of being a lot of things to a lot of people.

From Slate • Apr. 14, 2026

"We've been really clear, we have red lines here, the data must stay in the UK, it must be NHS owned," he told the programme.

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026

President Trump has signed a bill restoring federal funding to tech startups in California and elsewhere, money that had been held up for more than six months.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

Last week, she and the entire class had been given a creative writing assignment.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023