Nearby Words

Being

[bee-ing] Example Sentences Origin

be·ing

[bee-ing]
noun
1.
the fact of existing; existence (as opposed to nonexistence).
2.
conscious, mortal existence; life: Our being is as an instantaneous flash of light in the midst of eternal night.
3.
substance or nature: of such a being as to arouse fear.
4.
something that exists: inanimate beings.
5.
a living thing: strange, exotic beings that live in the depths of the sea.
EXPAND
6.
a human being; person: the most beautiful being you could imagine.
7.
(initial capital letter) God.
8.
Philosophy.
a.
that which has actuality either materially or in idea.
b.
absolute existence in a complete or perfect state, lacking no essential characteristic; essence.
COLLAPSE
conjunction
9.
Nonstandard. since; because; considering that (often followed by as, as how, or that): Being it's midnight, let's go home. Being as how you cooked supper, I'll do the dishes.

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Being is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English; see be, -ing1

non·be·ing, noun, adjective
su·per·be·ing, noun
Example Sentences
  • Then they said that not enough money was being offered along with the prisoners.
  • Being a young female scientist meant being insulted, patronized, and intensely criticized with alarming frequency.
  • We cannot risk politicians fighting tooth and nail to stay in office for fear of being prosecuted.
EXPAND
Dictionary.com Unabridged

be

[bee; unstressed bee, bi] verb and 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.
verb (used without object)
1.
to exist or live: Shakespeare's “To be or not to be” is the ultimate question.
2.
to take place; happen; occur: The wedding was last week.
3.
to occupy a place or position: The book is on the table.
4.
to continue or remain as before: Let things be.
5.
to belong; attend; befall: May good fortune be with you.
EXPAND
6.
(used as a copula to connect the subject with its predicate adjective, or predicate nominative, in order to describe, identify, or amplify the subject): Martha is tall. John is president. This is she.
7.
(used as a copula to introduce or form interrogative or imperative sentences): Is that right? Be quiet! Don't be facetious.
COLLAPSE
auxiliary verb
8.
(used with the present participle of another verb to form the progressive tense): I am waiting.
9.
(used with the present participle or infinitive of the principal verb to indicate future action): She is visiting there next week. He is to see me today.
10.
(used with the past participle of another verb to form the passive voice): The date was fixed. It must be done.
11.
(used in archaic or literary constructions with some intransitive verbs to form the perfect tense): He is come. Agamemnon to the wars is gone.

Origin:
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

be, bee.


See me.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To Being
Collins
World English Dictionary
being (ˈbiːɪŋ)
 
n
1.  the state or fact of existing; existence
2.  essential nature; self: she put her whole being into the part
3.  something that exists or is thought to exist, esp something that cannot be assigned to any category: a being from outer space
4.  a person; human being
5.  Compare becoming (in the philosophy of Aristotle) actuality

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

be
O.E. beon, beom, bion "be, exist, come to be, become," from P.Gmc. *beo-, *beu-. This "b-root" is from PIE base *bheu-, *bhu- "grow, come into being, become," and in addition to the words in English it yielded German present first and second person sing. (bin, bist, from O.H.G. bim "I am," bist "thou
EXPAND
art"), L. perf. tenses of esse (fui "I was," etc.), O.C.S. byti "be," Gk. phu- "become," O.Ir. bi'u "I am," Lith. bu'ti "to be," Rus. byt' "to be," etc. It also is behind Skt. bhavah "becoming," bhavati "becomes, happens," bhumih "earth, world."

The modern verb in its entirety represents the merger of two once-distinct verbs, the "b-root" represented by be and the am/was verb, which was itself a conglomerate. Roger Lass ("Old English") describes the verb as "a collection of semantically related paradigm fragments," while Weekley calls it "an accidental conglomeration from the different Old English dial[ect]s." It is the most irregular verb in Mod.E. and the most common. Collective in all Germanic languages, it has eight different forms in Modern English:

BE (infinitive, subjunctive, imperative)
AM (present 1st person singular)
ARE (present 2nd person singular and all plural)
IS (present 3rd person singular)
WAS (past 1st and 3rd persons singular)
WERE (past 2nd person singular, all plural; subjunctive)
BEING (progressive & present participle; gerund)
BEEN (perfect participle).

The paradigm in O.E. was:

SING.PL.
1st pres.ic eom
ic beo
we sind(on)
we beoð
2nd pres.þu eart
þu bist
ge sind(on)
ge beoð
3rd pres.he is
he bið
hie sind(on)
hie beoð
1st pret.ic wæswe wæron
2nd pret.þu wærege waeron
3rd pret.heo wæshie wæron
1st pret. subj.ic wærewe wæren
2nd pret. subj.þu wærege wæren
3rd pret. subj.Egcferð wærehie wæren


The "b-root" had no past tense in O.E., but often served as future tense of am/was. In 13c. it took the place of the infinitive, participle and imperative forms of am/was. Later its plural forms (we beth, ye ben, they be) became standard in M.E. and it made inroads into the singular (I be, thou beest, he beth), but forms of are claimed this turf in the 1500s and replaced be in the plural. For the origin and evolution of the am/was branches of this tangle, see am and was.
"That but this blow Might be the be all, and the end all." ["Macbeth" I.vii.5]

being
"existence," early 14c., from be (q.v.) + -ing. Sense in human being is from 1751.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

Be
The symbol for the element beryllium.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
beryllium   (bə-rĭl'ē-əm)  Pronunciation Key 
Symbol Be
A hard, lightweight, steel-gray metallic element of the alkaline-earth group, found in various minerals, especially beryl. It has a high melting point and is corrosion-resistant. Beryllium is used to make sturdy, lightweight alloys and aerospace structural materials. It is also used as a neutron moderator in nuclear reactors. Atomic number 4; atomic weight 9.0122; melting point 1,278°C; boiling point 2,970°C; specific gravity 1.848; valence 2. See Periodic Table.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature