Showing results for "was"

• an inflection of be.
• an inflection of be.

was

American  

[wuhz, woz, wuhz] / wʌz, wɒz, wəz /

verb

1. first and third person singular past indicative of be.

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was British  

/ wɒz, 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?

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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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

was

The project was initiated a decade ago, she said, but construction only began in the last two months.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

Alberto Carvalho said there was “no evidence of widespread impact” and called those affected “outliers.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

Tofino was the last captive whale in Canada.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

The event was part of LA Tech Week, a citywide event organized by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

A girl who spoke out for what was right, even when people called her a witch.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

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