is

[ iz ]

/ ɪz /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR is ON THESAURUS.COM

verb

3rd person singular present indicative of be.

Nearby words

irvingite, irvington, irw, irwin, iráklion, is, is my face red!, is that a fact?, is-, is., isa

Idioms

as is. as¹(def 23).

Origin of is

before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Dutch is, Old Norse es, er, German, Gothic ist, Latin est, Greek estí, OCS jestĭ, Sanskrit asti

Definition for is (2 of 8)

IS

Islamic State. See ISIS.

Definition for is (3 of 8)

I, i

[ ahy ]

/ aɪ /

noun, plural I's or Is, i's or is.

the ninth letter of the English alphabet, a vowel.

any spoken sound represented by the letter I or i, as in big, nice, or ski.

something having the shape of an I.

a written or printed representation of the letter I or i.

a device, as a printer's type, for reproducing the letter I ori.

Definition for is (4 of 8)

be

[ bee; unstressed bee, bi ]

/ bi; unstressed bi, bɪ /

verb (used without object), present singular 1st person am, 2nd are or (Archaic) art, 3rd is, present plural are; past singular 1st person was, 2nd were or (Archaic) wast or wert, 3rd was, past plural were; present subjunctive be; past subjunctive singular 1st person were, 2nd were or (Archaic) wert, 3rd were; past subjunctive plural were; past participle been; present participle be·ing.

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

to take place; happen; occur: The wedding was last week.

to occupy a place or position: The book is on the table.

to continue or remain as before: Let things be.

to belong; attend; befall: May good fortune be with you.

(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.

(used as a copula to introduce or form interrogative or imperative sentences): Is that right? Be quiet! Don't be facetious.

auxiliary verb, present singular 1st person am, 2nd are or (Archaic) art, 3rd is, present plural are; past singular 1st person was, 2nd were or (Archaic) wast or wert, 3rd was, past plural were; present subjunctive be; past subjunctive singular 1st person were, 2nd were or (Archaic) wert, 3rd were; past subjunctive plural were; past participle been; present participle be·ing.

(used with the present participle of another verb to form the progressive tense): I am waiting.

(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.

(used with the past participle of another verb to form the passive voice): The date was fixed. It must be done.

(used in archaic or literary constructions with some intransitive verbs to form the perfect tense): He is come. Agamemnon to the wars is gone.

Origin of be

before 900; Middle English been, Old English bēon (bēo- (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, OCS byti, Persian būd was)) + -n infinitive suffix. See am, is, are¹, was, were

Can be confusedbe bee

Usage note

See me.

Definition for is (5 of 8)

I

[ ahy ]

/ aɪ /

pronoun, nominative I, possessive my or mine, objective me; plural nominative we, possessive our or ours, objective us.

the nominative singular pronoun, used by a speaker in referring to himself or herself.

noun, plural I's.

(used to denote the narrator of a literary work written in the first person singular).

Metaphysics. the ego.

Origin of I

before 900; Middle English ik, ich, i; Old English ic, ih; cognate with German ich, Old Norse ek, Latin ego, Greek egṓ, OCS azŭ, Lithuanian aš, Sanskrit ahám

Can be confusedaye eye I

Usage note

See me.

Definition for is (6 of 8)

is-

variant of iso- before a vowel: isallobar.

Definition for is (7 of 8)

is.

island.

isle.

Definition for is (8 of 8)

Is.

Isaiah.

island.

isle.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for is (1 of 14)

is

/ (ɪz) /

verb

(used with he, she, it, and with singular nouns) a form of the present tense (indicative mood) of be 1

Word Origin for is

Old English; compare Old Norse es, German ist, Latin est, Greek esti

British Dictionary definitions for is (2 of 14)

is

the internet domain name for

Iceland

British Dictionary definitions for is (3 of 14)

IS

abbreviation for

Iceland (international car registration)

Word Origin for IS

Icelandic ĺsland

British Dictionary definitions for is (4 of 14)

Be

the chemical symbol for

beryllium

British Dictionary definitions for is (5 of 14)

BE

abbreviation for

bill of exchange

(in the US) Board of Education

Bachelor of Education

Bachelor of Engineering

British Dictionary definitions for is (6 of 14)

Bé

abbreviation for

Baumé

British Dictionary definitions for is (7 of 14)

i

I

/ (aɪ) /

noun plural i's, I's or Is

the ninth letter and third vowel of the modern English alphabet

any of several speech sounds represented by this letter, in English as in bite or hit

something shaped like an I
(in combination)an I-beam

dot the i's and cross the t's to pay meticulous attention to detail

British Dictionary definitions for is (8 of 14)

i

symbol for

the imaginary number √–1Also called: j

British Dictionary definitions for is (9 of 14)

is-

combining form

variant of iso- isentropic

British Dictionary definitions for is (10 of 14)

Is.

abbreviation for

Also: Isa Bible Isaiah

Island(s) or Isle(s)

British Dictionary definitions for is (11 of 14)

be

/ (biː, unstressed bɪ) /

verb present singular 1st person am; 2nd person are; 3rd person is; present plural are; past singular 1st person was; 2nd person were; 3rd person was; past plural were; present participle being or past participle been (intr)

to have presence in the realm of perceived reality; exist; liveI think, therefore I am; not all that is can be understood

(used in the perfect or past perfect tenses only) to pay a visit; gohave you been to Spain?

to take place; occurmy birthday was last Thursday

(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)

(takes a present participle) forms the progressive present tensethe man is running

(takes a past participle) forms the passive voice of all transitive verbs and (archaically) certain intransitive onesa good film is being shown on television tonight; I am done

(takes an infinitive) expresses intention, expectation, supposition, or obligationthe president is to arrive at 9.30; you are not to leave before I say so

(takes a past participle) forms the perfect or past perfect tense of certain intransitive verbs of motion, such as go or comethe last train is gone

be that as it may the facts concerning (something) are of no importance

Word Origin for be

Old English bēon; related to Old High German bim am, Latin fui I have been, Greek phuein to bring forth, Sanskrit bhavati he is

British Dictionary definitions for is (12 of 14)

be

the internet domain name for

Belgium

British Dictionary definitions for is (13 of 14)

I

/ (aɪ) /

pronoun

(subjective) refers to the speaker or writer

Word Origin for I

C12: reduced form of Old English ic; compare Old Saxon ik, Old High German ih, Sanskrit ahám

British Dictionary definitions for is (14 of 14)

I

symbol for

chem iodine

physics current

physics isospin

logic a particular affirmative categorial statement, such as some men are married, often symbolized as SiPCompare A, E, O 1

(Roman numeral) oneSee Roman numerals

abbreviation for

Italy (international car registration)

Word Origin for I

(for sense 4) from Latin (aff) i (rmo) I affirm

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

Word Origin and History for is (1 of 3)

is

third person singular present of be, Old English is, from Germanic stem *es- (cf. Old High German, German, Gothic ist, Old Norse es, er), from PIE *es-ti- (cf. Sanskrit asti, Greek esti, Latin est, Lithuanian esti, Old Church Slavonic jesti), from PIE root *es- "to be." Old English lost the final -t-. See be. Until 1500s, pronounced to rhyme with kiss.

Word Origin and History for is (1 of 3)

I

pron.

12c. shortening of Old English ic, first person singular nominative pronoun, from Proto-Germanic *ekan (cf. Old Frisian ik, Old Norse ek, Norwegian eg, Danish jeg, Old High German ih, German ich, Gothic ik), from PIE *eg-, nominative form of the first person singular pronoun (cf. Sanskrit aham, Hittite uk, Latin ego (source of French Je), Greek ego, Russian ja, Lithuanian aš). Reduced to i by mid-12c. in northern England, it began to be capitalized mid-13c. to mark it as a distinct word and avoid misreading in handwritten manuscripts.

The reason for writing I is ... the orthographic habit in the middle ages of using a 'long i' (that is, j or I) whenever the letter was isolated or formed the last letter of a group; the numeral 'one' was written j or I (and three iij, etc.), just as much as the pronoun. [Otto Jespersen, "Growth and Structure of the English Language," p.233]

The form ich or ik, especially before vowels, lingered in northern England until c.1400 and survived in southern dialects until 18c. The dot on the "small" letter -i- began to appear in 11c. Latin manuscripts, to distinguish the letter from the stroke of another letter (such as -m- or -n-). Originally a diacritic, it was reduced to a dot with the introduction of Roman type fonts.

Word Origin and History for is (2 of 3)

be

Old English beon, beom, bion "be, exist, come to be, become, happen," from Proto-Germanic *biju- "I am, I will be." This "b-root" is from PIE root *bheue- "to be, exist, grow, come into being," and in addition to the words in English it yielded German present first and second person singular (bin, bist, from Old High German bim "I am," bist "thou art"), Latin perfective tenses of esse (fui "I was," etc.), Old Church Slavonic byti "be," Greek phu- "become," Old Irish bi'u "I am," Lithuanian bu'ti "to be," Russian byt' "to be," etc. It also is behind Sanskrit bhavah "becoming," bhavati "becomes, happens," bhumih "earth, world."

The modern verb to be in its entirety represents the merger of two once-distinct verbs, the "b-root" represented by be and the am/was verb, which was itself a conglomerate. Roger Lass ("Old English") describes the verb as "a collection of semantically related paradigm fragments," while Weekley calls it "an accidental conglomeration from the different Old English dial[ect]s." It is the most irregular verb in Modern English and the most common. Collective in all Germanic languages, it has eight different forms in Modern English:

BE (infinitive, subjunctive, imperative)
AM (present 1st person singular)
ARE (present 2nd person singular and all plural)
IS (present 3rd person singular)
WAS (past 1st and 3rd persons singular)
WERE (past 2nd person singular, all plural; subjunctive)
BEING (progressive & present participle; gerund)
BEEN (perfect participle).

The paradigm in Old English was:

	SING.	PL.
1st pres.	ic eom ic beo	we sind(on) we beoð
2nd pres.	þu eart þu bist	ge sind(on) ge beoð
3rd pres.	he is he bið	hie sind(on) hie beoð
1st pret.	ic wæs	we wæron
2nd pret.	þu wære	ge waeron
3rd pret.	heo wæs	hie wæron
1st pret. subj.	ic wære	we wæren
2nd pret. subj.	þu wære	ge wæren
3rd pret. subj.	Egcferð wære	hie wæren

The "b-root" had no past tense in Old English, but often served as future tense of am/was. In 13c. it took the place of the infinitive, participle and imperative forms of am/was. Later its plural forms (we beth, ye ben, they be) became standard in Middle English and it made inroads into the singular (I be, thou beest, he beth), but forms of are claimed this turf in the 1500s and replaced be in the plural. For the origin and evolution of the am/was branches of this tangle, see am and was.

That but this blow Might be the be all, and the end all. ["Macbeth" I.vii.5]

Medicine definitions for is (1 of 3)

I

The symbol for the elementiodine

i The symbol forcurrent

Medicine definitions for is (2 of 3)

is-

pref.

Variant ofiso-

Medicine definitions for is (3 of 3)

Be

The symbol for the elementberyllium

Science definitions for is (1 of 3)

i

[ ī ]

The number whose square is equal to -1. Numbers expressed in terms of i are called imaginary or complex numbers.

Science definitions for is (2 of 3)

I

The symbol for electric current.

The symbol for iodine.

Science definitions for is (3 of 3)

Be

The symbol for beryllium.

Idioms and Phrases with is (1 of 2)

be

In addition to the idioms beginning with be

be a credit to
be along
be big on
be bound to
be busted
bed and board
bed and breakfast
bed of roses
be down
bee in one's bonnet
been around
been had
been there, done that
been to the wars
beginning of the end, the
begin to see daylight
begin to see the light
begin with
beg off
beg the question
beg to differ
be had
be in on
be into
bell the cat, who will
be my guest
bend one's elbow
bend over backwards
bend someone's ear
be off
be on
be oneself
be on to
beside oneself
beside the point
be that as it may
be the death of
be the end of one
be the making of

also see:

let be

Idioms and Phrases with is (2 of 2)

i

see dot the i's and cross the t's.

is

.css-1gxch3{color:#1a1a1a;font-size:18px;font-weight:normal;font-style:italic;}verb

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Idioms

Origin of is

Definition for.css-ylq2vz{color:#1a1a1a;} is (2 of 8)

IS

Definition for is (3 of 8)

I, i

Definition for is (4 of 8)

be

Origin of be

Usage note

Definition for is (5 of 8)

I

pronoun, nominative I, possessive my or mine, objective me; plural nominative we, possessive our or ours, objective us.

noun, plural I's.

Origin of I

Usage note

Definition for is (6 of 8)

is-

Definition for is (7 of 8)

is.

Definition for is (8 of 8)

Is.

British Dictionary definitions for is (1 of 14)

is

verb

Word Origin for is

British Dictionary definitions for is (2 of 14)

is

the internet domain name for

British Dictionary definitions for is (3 of 14)

IS

abbreviation for

Word Origin for IS

British Dictionary definitions for is (4 of 14)

Be

the chemical symbol for

British Dictionary definitions for is (5 of 14)

BE

abbreviation for

British Dictionary definitions for is (6 of 14)

Bé

abbreviation for

British Dictionary definitions for is (7 of 14)

i

I

noun plural i's, I's or Is

British Dictionary definitions for is (8 of 14)

i

symbol for

British Dictionary definitions for is (9 of 14)

is-

combining form

British Dictionary definitions for is (10 of 14)

Is.

abbreviation for

British Dictionary definitions for is (11 of 14)

be

verb present singular 1st person am; 2nd person are; 3rd person is; present plural are; past singular 1st person was; 2nd person were; 3rd person was; past plural were; present participle being or past participle been (intr)

Word Origin for be

British Dictionary definitions for is (12 of 14)

be

the internet domain name for

British Dictionary definitions for is (13 of 14)

I

pronoun

Word Origin for I

British Dictionary definitions for is (14 of 14)

I

symbol for

abbreviation for

Word Origin for I

Word Origin and History for is (1 of 3)

is

Word Origin and History for is (1 of 3)

I

verb

Definition for is (2 of 8)