was
Americanverb
verb
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the past tense (indicative mood) of be 1
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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?
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"He WAS internationally known and he DID rock the microphone," comedian Dane Cook wrote on X.
From BBC • May 23, 2026
On Monday night, Marie Allen, a 35-year-old studying to be a substance-abuse counselor, stood with a friend near the shooting site holding a sign that read, “IT WAS MURDER.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 2026
“He WAS love,” she wrote, sharing a tender picture of them from when she was a baby.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 8, 2024
I was not depressed, I WAS ANGRY, and it was not that I was not eating, it was that I was eating too much.
From Slate • Dec. 4, 2023
Well, in this case, everybody really WAS looking at me.
From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
