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; wassail

Example Sentences

Cellphone and GPS evidence showed Gomes Akay driving to the Angeles National Forest, where he was for an hour, according to the release.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2026

Thelo Aasgaard has been a much-maligned figure in his maiden season at Ibrox but was involved in three of the four goals, including scoring the third.

From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026

One aviator was rescued by U.S. forces, and another remains unaccounted for.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026

Soleimani Afshar’s husband was also barred from entering the country.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2026

At the beginning of the summer, I was pretty sure we both were.

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