was

[ wuhz, woz; unstressed wuhz ]
See synonyms for was on Thesaurus.com
verb
  1. first and third person singular past indicative of be.

Origin of was

1
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

Words Nearby was

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use was in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for was

was

/ (wɒz, unstressed 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?

Origin of was

1
Old English wæs, from wesan to be; related to Old Frisian, Old High German was, Old Norse var

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