be
verb
[ biː ]
• exist.
• "there are no easy answers"
Similar:
exist,
have being,
have existence,
live,
be alive,
have life,
breathe,
draw breath,
be extant,
be viable,
• occur; take place.
• "the exhibition will be in November"
Similar:
occur,
happen,
take place,
come about,
arise,
crop up,
transpire,
fall,
materialize,
ensue,
come to pass,
befall,
betide,
• having the state, quality, identity, nature, role, etc., specified.
• "Amy was 91"
• say.
• "last time I saw her she was all ‘You need to quit smoking!’"
be
verb
• used with a present participle to form continuous tenses.
• "they are coming"
• used with a past participle to form the passive voice.
• "it was done"
• used to indicate something that is due or destined to happen.
• "construction is to begin next summer"
• used with the past participle of intransitive verbs to form perfect tenses.
• "I am returned"
Origin:
Old English bēon, an irregular and defective verb, whose full conjugation derives from several originally distinct verbs. The forms am and is are from an Indo-European root shared by Latin sum and est . The forms was and were are from an Indo-European root meaning ‘remain’. The forms be and been are from an Indo-European root shared by Latin fui ‘I was’, fio ‘I become’, and Greek phuein ‘bring forth, cause to grow’. The origin of are is uncertain.
be-
prefix
• (forming verbs) all over; all round.
• "bespatter"
• (added to intransitive verbs) expressing transitive action.
• "bemoan"
• (added to adjectives and nouns) expressing transitive action.
• "befool"
• (added to nouns) affect with.
• "befog"
• (forming adjectives ending in -ed ) having; covered with.
• "bejewelled"
Origin:
Old English, weak form of bī ‘by’.
Be
symbol
• the chemical element beryllium.
BE
abbreviation
• Bachelor of Education.
• Bachelor of Engineering.
• bill of exchange.
beryllium
noun
• the chemical element of atomic number 4, a hard grey metal.
