were
[ wur; unstressed wer; British also wair ]
/ wɜr; unstressed wər; British also wɛər /
verb
a 2nd person singular pt. indicative, plural past indicative, and past subjunctive of be.
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Origin of were
before 1000; Middle English; Old English
wǣre past subjunctive,
wǣre past indicative 2nd person singular and
wǣron past indicative plural of
wesan to be; cognate with Dutch, German
waren, Danish
var. See
was
usage note for were
See
subjunctive.
Words nearby were
wentworth,
wentworth scale,
wenzel,
wenzhou,
wept,
were,
weren't,
werewolf,
werewolves,
werfel,
wergeland
Definition for were (2 of 3)
be
[ bee; unstressed bee, bi ]
/ bi; unstressed bi, bɪ /
verb (used without object), present singular 1st person am, 2nd are or (Archaic) art, 3rd is, present plural are; past singular 1st person was, 2nd were or (Archaic) wast or wert, 3rd was, past plural were; present subjunctive be; past subjunctive singular 1st person were, 2nd were or (Archaic) wert, 3rd were; past subjunctive plural were; past participle been; present participle be·ing.
auxiliary verb, present singular 1st person am, 2nd are or (Archaic) art, 3rd is, present plural are; past singular 1st person was, 2nd were or (Archaic) wast or wert, 3rd was, past plural were; present subjunctive be; past subjunctive singular 1st person were, 2nd were or (Archaic) wert, 3rd were; past subjunctive plural were; past participle been; present participle be·ing.
Origin of be
before 900; Middle English
been, Old English
bēon (
bēo- (akin to Old Frisian, Old High German
bim, German
bin, Old Saxon
bium, biom (I) am, Old English, Old High German, Old Saxon
būan, Old Norse
būa reside, Latin
fuī (I) have been, Greek
phy- grow, become, Old Irish
boí (he) was, Sanskrit
bhávati (he) becomes, is, Lithuanian
búti to be, OCS
byti, Persian
būd was)) +
-n infinitive suffix. See
am,
is,
are1,
was,
were
usage note for be
See
me.
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH be
be beeDefinition for were (3 of 3)
we're
[ weer ]
/ wɪər /
contraction of we are: We're happy to see you.
usage note for we're
See
contraction.
British Dictionary definitions for were (1 of 7)
were
/ (wɜː, unstressed wə) /
verb
the plural form of the past tense (indicative mood) of be and the singular form used with you. It is also used as a subjunctive, esp in conditional sentences
Word Origin for were
Old English
wērun, wæron past tense plural of
wesan to be; related to Old Norse
vera, Old Frisian
weria, Old High German
werōn to last
usage for were
Were, as a remnant of the past subjunctive in English, is used in formal contexts in clauses expressing hypotheses (
if he were to die, she would inherit everything), suppositions contrary to fact (
if I were you, I would be careful), and desire (
I wish he were there now). In informal speech, however,
was is often used instead
British Dictionary definitions for were (2 of 7)
Be
the chemical symbol for
beryllium
British Dictionary definitions for were (3 of 7)
BE
abbreviation for
bill of exchange
(in the US) Board of Education
Bachelor of Education
Bachelor of Engineering
British Dictionary definitions for were (4 of 7)
Bé
abbreviation for
Baumé
British Dictionary definitions for were (5 of 7)
we're
/ (wɪə) /
contraction of
we are
British Dictionary definitions for were (6 of 7)
be
1
/ (biː, unstressed bɪ) /
verb present singular 1st person am; 2nd person are; 3rd person is; present plural are; past singular 1st person was; 2nd person were; 3rd person was; past plural were; present participle being or past participle been (intr)
Word Origin for be
Old English
bēon; related to Old High German
bim am, Latin
fui I have been, Greek
phuein to bring forth, Sanskrit
bhavati he is
British Dictionary definitions for were (7 of 7)
be
2
the internet domain name for
Belgium
Medical definitions for were
Be
The symbol for the elementberyllium
Scientific definitions for were
Be
The symbol for beryllium.
Idioms and Phrases with were
be