What does "be" mean?
The name of the Cyrillic script letter Б / б
Be
/biː/ adj, name, noun, prep, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, prep, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The name of the Cyrillic script letter Б / б
- Grammar: be is listed as adj, name, noun, prep, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: exist, live, abide, act as helper.
- Useful contrasts: seeming robustness, appear to be, cease to exist.
- Usage evidence: It's because you don't want to be alone.
How to use "be"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "be" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "be" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "be" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "be" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "be" is acting as adj, name, noun, prep, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "exist" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "be", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The name of the Cyrillic script letter Б / б
- 2 Initialism of Bachelor of Engineering. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 3 a light strong brittle grey toxic bivalent metallic element wordnet
- 4 Initialism of breast expansion. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
Verb
- 1 As an auxiliary verb:; Used with past participles of verbs to form the passive voice. auxiliary, irregular
"The dog was saved by the boy."
- 2 spend or use time wordnet
- 3 As an auxiliary verb:; Used with present participles of verbs to form the continuous aspect. irregular
"The woman is walking."
- 4 work in a specific place, with a specific subject, or in a specific function wordnet
- 5 As an auxiliary verb:; Used with to-infinitives of verbs to express intent, obligation, appropriateness, or relative future occurrence. formal, irregular
"I am to leave tomorrow."
Show 32 more definitions
- 6 have an existence, be extant wordnet
- 7 As an auxiliary verb:; Used with past participles of certain intransitive verbs to form the perfect aspect. irregular
"He is finished."
- 8 have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun) wordnet
- 9 As an auxiliary verb:; To tend to do, often do; marks the habitual aspect. Caribbean, Ireland, auxiliary, irregular
"1996, David Sheffield, Barry W. Blaustein, Tom Shadyac and Steve Oedekerk, screenplay of The Nutty Professor Women be shoppin’! You cannot stop a woman from shoppin’!"
- 10 have life, be alive wordnet
- 11 As a copulative verb:; To exist. irregular, with-dummy-subject
"There is just one woman in town who can help us."
- 12 be identical to; be someone or something wordnet
- 13 As a copulative verb:; Used to declare the subject and object identical or equivalent. irregular
"Hi, I’m Jim."
- 14 form or compose wordnet
- 15 As a copulative verb:; Used to indicate that a predicate nominal applies to the subject. irregular
"Rex is a dog."
- 16 occupy a certain position or area; be somewhere wordnet
- 17 As a copulative verb:; Used to indicate that the subject has the qualities described by an adjective or prepositional phrase. irregular
"The sky is blue."
- 18 be identical or equivalent to wordnet
- 19 As a copulative verb:; Used to indicate that the subject has the qualities described by a noun or noun phrase. irregular
"The sky is a deep blue today."
- 20 represent, as of a character on stage wordnet
- 21 As a copulative verb:; To have (a condition, especially a mental or physical disability). colloquial, humorous, irregular
"He’s a little autism."
- 22 be priced at wordnet
- 23 As a copulative verb:; Used to link a subject to a measurement. irregular
"This building is three hundred years old."
- 24 to remain unmolested, undisturbed, or uninterrupted — used only in infinitive form wordnet
- 25 As a copulative verb:; Used to state the age of a subject in years. irregular
"I’m 20 (years old)."
- 26 As a copulative verb:; Used to indicate the time of day. irregular
"It is almost eight (o’clock)."
- 27 As a copulative verb:; Used to indicate passage of time since the occurrence of an event. irregular
"It has been three years since my grandmother died. (similar to "My grandmother died three years ago", but emphasizes the intervening period)"
- 28 As a copulative verb:; Used to link two noun clauses: a day of the week, recurring date, month, or other specific time (on which the event of the main clause took place) and a period of time indicating how long ago that day was. irregular, past, rare, regional
"I saw her Monday was a week: I saw her a week ago last Monday (a week before last Monday)."
- 29 As a copulative verb:; To pass or spend (time). irregular
"and when he compares both sides, he will be some time at a loss to fix any determination."
- 30 As a copulative verb:; To take a period of time. irregular
"Dinner will be ten minutes."
- 31 As a copulative verb:; Used to indicate ambient conditions such as weather, light, noise or air quality. impersonal, irregular, often
"It is hot in Arizona, but it is not usually humid."
- 32 As a copulative verb:; To exist or behave in a certain way. especially, irregular
"When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead."
- 33 As an intransitive lexical verb:; To exist; to have real existence, to be alive. irregular, literary, usually
"The Universe has no explanation: it just is."
- 34 As an intransitive lexical verb:; To remain undisturbed in a certain state or situation. irregular
"Let them be for a few hours."
- 35 As an intransitive lexical verb:; To occupy a place. irregular
"The cup is on the table."
- 36 As an intransitive lexical verb:; To occur, to take place. irregular
"When will the meeting be?"
- 37 As an intransitive lexical verb:; Elliptical form of "be here", "go to and return from" or similar, also extending to certain other senses of "go". irregular
"The postman has been today, but my tickets have still not yet come."
Adjective
- 1 Initialism of board-eligible. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, not-comparable
Preposition
- 1 Alternative form of by. Also found in compounds, especially oaths, e.g. begorra. alt-of, alternative, dated, dialectal, possibly
"O ful tru un pertikler akeawnt o... th' greyt Eggshibishun. Be o felley fro Rachde."
Proper Noun
- 1 Abbreviation of Berlin: a state of Germany. abbreviation, alt-of
- 2 Abbreviation of Bengkulu: a province of Indonesia. abbreviation, alt-of
- 3 Initialism of Black English. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 4 Initialism of Buddhist Era. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
"For quotations using this term, see Citations:BE."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"It's because you don't want to be alone."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "be"?
Common synonyms include: exist, live, abide, act as helper, ada, archaic be form.
How do you use "be" in a sentence?
It's because you don't want to be alone.
How do you pronounce "be"?
Pronounced /biː/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English been (“to be”). further etymology of be and its conjugated forms The various forms have three separate origins, which were mixed together at various times in the history of English. * The forms beginning with b- come from Old English bēon (“to be, become”), from Proto-Germanic *beuną (“to be, exist, come to be, become”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH-yé-ti (“to grow, become, come into being, appear”), from the root *bʰuH-. In particular: ** Now-dialectal use of been as an infinitive of be is either from Middle English been (“to be”) or an extension of the past participle. ** Now-obsolete use of been as a plural present tense (meaning "are") is from Middle English been, be (present plural of been (“to be”), with the -n leveled in from the past and subjunctive; compare competing forms aren/are). ** Use of been as a past participle is from Middle English been, ybeen, from Old English ġebēon. * The forms beginning with w- come from the aforementioned Old English bēon, which shared its past tense with the verb wesan, from Proto-West Germanic *wesan, from Proto-Germanic *wesaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wes- (“to reside”). * The remaining forms (am, are, is) are also from Old English wesan (“to be”), Proto-West Germanic *wesan, from Proto-Germanic *wesaną, the present tense of which comes from Proto-Indo-European *h₁és-ti, from the root *h₁es-.
Etymology 2
A variant of by which goes back to Middle English be (variant of Middle English bi).
Etymology 3
Borrowed from Russian бэ (bɛ).