58 results for: be

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be    Audio Help   [bee; unstressed bee, bi] Pronunciation Key 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.
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.
–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: bef. 900; ME been, OE béon (béo- (akin to OFris, OHG bim, G bin, OS bium, biom (I) am, OE, OHG, OS būan, ON būa reside, L fuī (I) have been, Gk phy- grow, become, OIr boí (he) was, Skt bhávati (he) becomes, is, Lith búti to be, OCS byti, Pers būd was)) + -n inf. suffix. See am, is, are1, was, were]

See me.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
be

To learn more about be visit Britannica.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
Be
Symbol, Chemistry.
beryllium.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
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Bé.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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B.E.
1.Bachelor of Education.
2.Bachelor of Engineering.
3.Bank of England.
4.bill of exchange.
5.Board of Education.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
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B/E
bill of exchange.
Also, b.e.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Baumé scale  
n.   Abbr. B. or
A hydrometer scale used to measure the specific gravity of liquids.


[After Antoine Baumé.]

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be    Audio Help   (bē)  Pronunciation Key 
v.   First and third person singular past indicative was (wŭz, wŏz; wəz when unstressed), second person singular and plural and first and third person plural past indicative were (wûr), past subjunctive were, past participle been (bĭn), present participle be·ing (bē'ĭng), first person singular present indicative am (ām), second person singular and plural and first and third person plural present indicative are (är), third person singular present indicative is (ĭz), present subjunctive be

v.   intr.
  1. To exist in actuality; have life or reality: I think, therefore I am.
    1. To occupy a specified position: The food is on the table.
    2. To remain in a certain state or situation undisturbed, untouched, or unmolested: Let the children be.
    3. To equal in identity: "To be a Christian was to be a Roman" (James Bryce).
    4. To have a specified significance: A is excellent, C is passing. Let n be the unknown quantity.
    5. To belong to a specified class or group: The human being is a primate.
    6. To have or show a specified quality or characteristic: She is witty. All humans are mortal.
    7. To seem to consist or be made of: The yard is all snow. He is all bluff and no bite.
  2. To take place; occur: The test was yesterday.
  3. To go or come: Have you ever been to Italy? Have you been home recently?
  4. Used as a copula in such senses as:
    1. To equal in identity: "To be a Christian was to be a Roman" (James Bryce).
    2. To have a specified significance: A is excellent, C is passing. Let n be the unknown quantity.
    3. To belong to a specified class or group: The human being is a primate.
    4. To have or show a specified quality or characteristic: She is witty. All humans are mortal.
    5. To seem to consist or be made of: The yard is all snow. He is all bluff and no bite.
  5. To belong; befall: Peace be unto you. Woe is me.

v.   aux.
  1. Used with the past participle of a transitive verb to form the passive voice: The mayoral election is held annually.
  2. Used with the present participle of a verb to express a continuing action: We are working to improve housing conditions.
  3. Used with the infinitive of a verb to express intention, obligation, or future action: She was to call before she left. You are to make the necessary changes.
  4. Archaic Used with the past participle of certain intransitive verbs to form the perfect tense: "Where be those roses gone which sweetened so our eyes?" (Philip Sidney).


[Middle English ben, from Old English bēon; see bheuə- in Indo-European roots. See am1, is, etc. for links to other Indo-European roots.]

Usage Note: Traditional grammar requires the nominative form of the pronoun in the predicate of the verb be: It is I (not me); That must be they (not them), and so forth. Nearly every speaker of Modern English finds this rule difficult to follow. Even if everyone could follow it, in informal contexts the nominative pronoun often sounds pedantic and even ridiculous, especially when the verb is contracted, as in It's we. But constructions like It is me have been condemned in the classroom and in writing handbooks for so long that there seems little likelihood that they will ever be entirely acceptable in formal writing. · The traditional rule creates additional problems when the pronoun following be also functions as the object of a verb or preposition in a relative clause, as in It is not them/they that we have in mind when we talk about "crime in the streets" nowadays, where the plural pronoun serves as both the predicate of is and the object of have. In this example, 57 percent of the Usage Panel prefers the nominative form they, 33 percent prefer the objective them, and 10 percent accept both versions. Writers can usually revise their sentences to avoid this problem: They are not the ones we have in mind, We have someone else in mind, and so on. See Usage Notes at I1, we.

Our Living Language  : In place of the inflected forms of be, such as is and are, used in Standard English, African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and some varieties of Southern American English may use zero copula or an invariant be, as in He be working, instead of the Standard English He is usually working. As an identifying feature of the vernacular of many African Americans, invariant be in recent years has been frequently seized on by writers and commentators trying to imitate or parody Black speech. However, most imitators use it simply as a substitute for is, as in John be sitting in that chair now, without realizing that within AAVE, invariant be is used primarily for habitual or extended actions set in the present. Among African Americans the form is most commonly used by working-class speakers and young persons. Since the 1980s, younger speakers have tended to restrict the use of the form to progressive verb forms (as in He be walking), whereas their parents use it with progressives, adjectives (as in He be nice), and expressions referring to a location (as in He be at home). Younger speakers also use invariant be more exclusively to indicate habitual action, whereas older speakers more commonly omit be forms (as in He walking) or use present tense verb forms (such as He walks), sometimes with adverbs like often or usually, to indicate habituality. · The source of invariant habitual be in AAVE is still disputed. Some linguists suggest that it represents influence from finite be in the 17th- to 19th-century English of British settlers, especially those from the southwest of England. Other linguists feel that contemporaneous Irish or Scotch-Irish immigrants may have played a larger role, since their dialects mark habitual verb forms with be and do be, as in "They be shooting and fishing out at the Forestry Lakes" (archival recordings of the Royal Irish Academy) and "Up half the night he does be" (James Joyce). Other linguists believe that it may have evolved from the does be construction indicating habitual action used by Gullah speakers from coastal South Carolina and Georgia and by Caribbean Creole immigants. Still other linguists suggest that invariant be is a mid- to late-20th-century innovation within AAVE, essentially a response to the wide range of meanings that the English progressive tense can express. See Notes at all, like2, zero copula.

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Be  
The symbol for the element beryllium.

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BE  
abbr.  
  1. Bachelor of Education
  2. Bachelor of Engineering
  3. Board of Education

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abbr.   Baumé scale

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be·ryl·li·um    Audio Help   (bə-rĭl'ē-əm)  Pronunciation Key 
n.   Symbol Be
A high-melting, lightweight, corrosion-resistant, rigid, steel-gray metallic element used as an aerospace structural material, as a moderator and reflector in nuclear reactors, and in a copper alloy used for springs, electrical contacts, and nonsparking tools. Atomic number 4; atomic weight 9.0122; melting point 1,278°C; boiling point 2,970°C; specific gravity 1.848; valence 2. See Table at element.


[From beryl.]

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
be 
O.E. beon, beom, bion "be, exist, come to be, become," from P.Gmc. *beo-, *beu-. 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 Gmc. languages, it has eight different forms in Mod.E.: 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 modern verb represents the merger of two once-distinct verbs, the "b-root" represented by be and the am/was verb, which was itself a conglomerate. The "b-root" is from PIE base *bheu-, *bhu- "grow, come into being, become," and in addition to Eng. it yielded Ger. present first and second person sing. (bin, bist, from O.H.G. bim "I am," bist "thou 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 is also behind Skt. bhavah "becoming," bhavati "becomes, happens," bhumih "earth, world." 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. The phrase be-all and end all is from Shakespeare ("Macbeth" I.vii.5).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
be

noun
1. a light strong brittle grey toxic bivalent metallic element [syn: beryllium

verb
1. have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun); "John is rich"; "This is not a good answer" 
2. be identical to; be someone or something; "The president of the company is John Smith"; "This is my house" 
3. occupy a certain position or area; be somewhere; "Where is my umbrella?" "The toolshed is in the back"; "What is behind this behavior?" 
4. have an existence, be extant; "Is there a God?" [syn: exist
5. happen, occur, take place; "I lost my wallet; this was during the visit to my parents' house"; "There were two hundred people at his funeral"; "There was a lot of noise in the kitchen" 
6. be identical or equivalent to; "One dollar equals 1,000 rubles these days!" [syn: equal] [ant: differ
7. form or compose; "This money is my only income"; "The stone wall was the backdrop for the performance"; "These constitute my entire belonging"; "The children made up the chorus"; "This sum represents my entire income for a year"; "These few men comprise his entire army" [syn: constitute
8. work in a specific place, with a specific subject, or in a specific function; "He is a herpetologist"; "She is our resident philosopher" 
9. represent, as of a character on stage; "Derek Jacobi was Hamlet" [syn: embody
10. spend or use time; "I may be an hour" 
11. have life, be alive; "Our great leader is no more"; "My grandfather lived until the end of war" 
12. to remain unmolested, undisturbed, or uninterrupted -- used only in infinitive form; "let her be" 
13. be priced at; "These shoes cost $100" [syn: cost

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

be

In addition to the idioms beginning with be, also see let be.


The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version) - Cite This Source - Share This
be1 [biː] verbpresent tense am [am], are [aː], is [iz]; past tense was [woz], were [wəː]; present participle ˈbeing; past participle been [biːn, (American) bin]; subjunctive were [wəː]; short forms I'm [aim] (I am), you're [juə] (you are), he's [hiːz] (he is), she's [ʃiːz] (she is), it's [its] (it is), we're [wiə] (we are), they're [θeə] (they are); negative short forms isn't [ˈiznt] (is not), aren't [aːnt] (are not), wasn't [ˈwoznt] (was not), weren't [wəːnt] (were not)
used with a present participle to form the progressive or continuous tenses
Example: I'm reading; I am being followed; What were you saying?
Arabic: يَسْتَعْمَل لِبِناء الفِعْل المُضارِع المُسْتَمـر
Chinese (Simplified):
Chinese (Traditional):
Czech: forma slovesa BE používaná k vytvoření průběhového času
Danish: være i færd med
Dutch: zijn
Estonian: (kestev tegevus olevikus)
Finnish: olla
French: être
German: sein
Greek: είμαι
Hungarian: van, létezik
Icelandic: vera
Indonesian: berfungsi untuk menyatakan kalimat sedang
Italian: stare
Japanese: ~である
Korean: …하는 중이다
Norwegian: være i ferd med, holde på med
Polish: być, zostać
Portuguese (Portugal): estar a (+ inf)
Russian: быть
Slovenian: biti
Spanish: estar + gerundio
Swedish: oöversatt hjälpverb
Turkish: *
be2 [biː] verb
used with a present participle to form a type of future tense
Example: I'm going to London.
Arabic: يُسْتَعْمَل لِبِناء فِعْل المُسْتَقْبَل
Chinese (Simplified): 与动词的现在分词连用,构成将来时
Chinese (Traditional): 与動詞的現在分詞連用,构成將來時
Czech: forma slovesa BE používaná k vytvoření jednoho z budoucích časů
Danish: skulle
Estonian: kavatsema
Finnish: aikoa
German: im Begriff sein zu
Icelandic: ég er að fara, ég ætla að fara
Indonesian: akan
Italian: andare
Japanese: ~しようとしている
Korean: …할 작정이다
Norwegian: skal, *skulle
Portuguese (Portugal): ir (+inf)
Russian: обозначает будущее время
Spanish: ir a + infinitivo
Swedish: skall el. oöversatt hjälpverb: jag åker till London
Turkish: *
be3 [biː] verb
used with a past participle to form the passive voice
Example: He was shot.
Arabic: يستعمل لبناء صيغة يُسْتَعْمَل لِبِناء صيغَة المَجْهول
Chinese (Simplified): (与动词的现在分词连用,构成被动语态)
Chinese (Traditional): (与動詞的現在分詞連用,构成被動語態)
Czech: být
Danish: blive; være
Dutch: worden, zijn
Estonian: (passiiv)
Finnish: joutua, tulla
French: être
German: wurde
Icelandic: vera
Indonesian: berfungsi membentuk kalimat pasif
Italian: essere; farsi
Japanese: ~される
Korean: …되다
Lithuanian: būti
Norwegian: er, blir, *var, ble
Portuguese (Portugal): ser
Romanian: a fi
Russian: быть
Slovak: byť
Slovenian: biti
Spanish: ser
Swedish: vara, bli
Turkish: *
be4 [biː] verb
used with an infinitive to express several ideas, eg necessity (When am I to leave?), purpose (The letter is to tell us he's coming), a possible future happening (If he were to lose, I'd win) etc
Arabic: dيُسْتَعْمَل مع المَصْدَر للتَّعْبير عن عِدّة أفكار مث
Chinese (Simplified): (与动词不定式连用,表示约定、意图、可能性等)
Chinese (Traditional): (与動詞不定式連用,表示約定、意圖、可能性等)
Czech: mít, muset
Danish: skulle
Dutch: moeten, dienen, etc.
Estonian: pidama
Finnish: olla määrä, pitää
French: devoir; aller
German: sollte, werden
Icelandic: eiga; mun
Indonesian: diikuti infinitive menyatakan akan
Italian: dovere
Japanese: ~すべきである
Korean: (의무) …해야 하다, (목적) …하기 위한 것이다, (가정) …한다면
Lithuanian: turėti, lemta būti
Norwegian: skal, *skulle (komme til å)
Romanian: a urma (să)
Russian: должен (был)
Slovak: mať, musieť
Slovenian: morati (naj bi)
Spanish: deber + infinitivo; tener como propósito
Swedish: skall, skulle
Turkish: *
be5 [biː] verb
used in giving or asking for information about something or someone
Example: I am Mr Smith; Is he alive?; She wants to be an actress; The money will be ours; They are being silly.
Arabic: يُسْتَعْمَل لِطَلَب مَعْلومات
Chinese (Simplified): 提供或询问某人(事)的情况
Chinese (Traditional): 提供或詢問某人(事)的情況
Czech: být
Danish: være; blive
Dutch: zijn
Estonian: olema
Finnish: olla
French: être
German: sein
Icelandic: vera
Indonesian: berfungsi membetuk kalimat tanya atau memberi informasi
Italian: essere
Japanese: ~である
Korean: …이다, …이 되다
Latvian: būt
Lithuanian: būti
Norwegian: være; bli
Romanian: a fi
Russian: быть
Slovak: byť
Slovenian: biti
Spanish: ser, estar
Swedish: vara, bli
Turkish: *
BE, B.E. [ˈbiː giː]abbreviation
Bachelor of Engineering; first degree in Engineering
Arabic: بَكالوريا في الهَنْدَسَه
Chinese (Simplified): 工学士
Chinese (Traditional): 工學士
Czech: bakalář technických věd
Danish: BE; B.E; bachelorgrad; lavere grad i ingeniørfag
Estonian: BSc (tehnikateaduste bakalaureus)
Greek: πτυχίο στον κλάδο της μηχανικής (συντομογρ.)
Hungarian: műszaki egyetemi végzettség
Indonesian: BE
Italian: laureato, *laurea in ingegneria*
Latvian: inženierzinātņu bakalaurs
Lithuanian: technikos bakalauras
Norwegian: lavere grad i ingeniørfag
Russian: бакалавр технических наук
Slovak: bakalár inžinierskeho štúdia
Spanish: licenciatura en Ingeniería
Swedish: teknologie kandidat
Turkish: mühendislik diploması
See also: being, the be-all and end-all

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version), © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.
The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Be  
The symbol for beryllium.

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beryllium    Audio Help   (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.

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American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Main Entry: BE
Function: abbreviation
1 barium enema
2 below elbow
3 board-eligible

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Main Entry: Be
Function: symbol
beryllium

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This

be networking
The country code for Belgium.
(1999-01-27)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Indian Harbor Be, FL Zip code(s): 32937

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Be

Am\ [AS. am, eom, akin to Gothic im, Icel. em, Olr. am, Lith. esmi, L. sum., Gr. ?, Zend ahmi, Skr. asmi, fr. a root as to be. ?. See Are, and cf. Be, Was.] The first person singular of the verb be, in the indicative mode, present tense. See Be.

God said unto Moses, I am that am. --Exod. iii. 14.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Be

Am\ [AS. am, eom, akin to Gothic im, Icel. em, Olr. am, Lith. esmi, L. sum., Gr. ?, Zend ahmi, Skr. asmi, fr. a root as to be. ?. See Are, and cf. Be, Was.] The first person singular of the verb be, in the indicative mode, present tense. See Be.

God said unto Moses, I am that am. --Exod. iii. 14.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Be

Are\ [AS. (Northumbrian) aron, akin to the 1st pers. pl. forms, Icel. erum, Goth. sijum, L. sumus, Gr. ?, Skr. smas; all from a root as. ? See Am and Is, and cf. Be.] The present indicative plural of the substantive verb to be; but etymologically a different word from be, or was. Am, art, are, and is, all come from the root as.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Be

Art\ ([aum]rt). The second person singular, indicative mode, present tense, of the substantive verb Be; but formed after the analogy of the plural are, with the ending -t, as in thou shalt, wilt, orig. an ending of the second person sing. pret. Cf. Be. Now used only in solemn or poetical style.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Be

Art\ ([aum]rt). The second person singular, indicative mode, present tense, of the substantive verb Be; but formed after the analogy of the plural are, with the ending -t, as in thou shalt, wilt, orig. an ending of the second person sing. pret. Cf. Be. Now used only in solemn or poetical style.
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Be

Be\, v. i. [imp. Was; p. p. Been; p. pr. & vb. n. Being.] [OE. been, beon, AS. be['o]n to be, be['o]m I am; akin to OHG. bim, pim, G. bin, I am, Gael. & Ir. bu was, W. bod to be, Lith. bu-ti, O. Slav. by-ti, to be, L. fu-i I have been, fu-turus about to be, fo-re to be about to be, and perh to fieri to become, Gr. ? to be born, to be, Skr. bh? to be. This verb is defective, and the parts lacking are supplied by verbs from other roots, is, was, which have no radical connection with be. The various forms, am, are, is, was, were, etc., are considered grammatically as parts of the verb "to be", which, with its conjugational forms, is often called the substantive verb. ?97. Cf. Future, Physic.]

1. To exist actually, or in the world of fact; to have ex?stence.

To be contents his natural desire. --Pope.

To be, or not to be: that is the question. --Shak.

2. To exist in a certain manner or relation, -- whether as a reality or as a product of thought; to exist as the subject of a certain predicate, that is, as having a certain attribute, or as belonging to a certain sort, or as identical with what is specified, -- a word or words for the predicate being annexed; as, to be happy; to be here; to be large, or strong; to be an animal; to be a hero; to be a nonentity; three and two are five; annihilation is the cessation of existence; that is the man.

3. To take place; to happen; as, the meeting was on Thursday.

4. To signify; to represent or symbolize; to answer to.

The field is the world. --Matt. xiii. 38.

The seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. --Rev. i. 20.

Note: The verb to be (including the forms is, was, etc.) is used in forming the passive voice of other verbs; as, John has been struck by James. It is also used with the past participle of many intransitive verbs to express a state of the subject. But have is now more commonly used as the auxiliary, though expressing a different sense; as, "Ye have come too late -- but ye are come. " "The minstrel boy to the war is gone." The present and imperfect tenses form, with the infinitive, a particular future tense, which expresses necessity, duty, or purpose; as, government is to be supported; we are to pay our just debts; the deed is to be signed to-morrow.

Note: Have or had been, followed by to, implies movement. "I have been to Paris." --Sydney Smith. "Have you been to Franchard ?" --R. L. Stevenson.

Note: Been, or ben, was anciently the plural of the indicative present. "Ye ben light of the world." --Wyclif, Matt. v. 14. Afterwards be was used, as in our Bible: "They that be with us are more than they that be with them." --2 Kings vi. 16. Ben was also the old infinitive: "To ben of such power." --R. of Gloucester. Be is used as a form of the present subjunctive: "But if it be a question of words and names." --Acts xviii. 15. But the indicative forms, is and are, with if, are more commonly used.

Be it so, a phrase of supposition, equivalent to suppose it to be so; or of permission, signifying let it be so. --Shak.

If so be, in case.

To be from, to have come from; as, from what place are you ? I am from Chicago.

To let be, to omit, or leave untouched; to let alone. "Let be, therefore, my vengeance to dissuade." --Spenser.

Syn: To be, Exist.

Usage: The verb to be, except in a few rare case, like that of Shakespeare's "To be, or not to be", is used simply as a copula, to connect a subject with its predicate; as, man is mortal; the soul is immortal. The verb to exist is never properly used as a mere copula, but points to things that stand forth, or have a substantive being; as, when the soul is freed from all corporeal alliance, then it truly exists. It is not, therefore, properly synonymous with to be when used as a copula, though occasionally made so by some writers for the sake of variety; as in the phrase "there exists [is] no reason for laying new taxes." We may, indeed, say, "a friendship has long existed between them," instead of saying, "there has long been a friendship between them;" but in this case, exist is not a mere copula. It is used in its appropriate sense to mark the friendship as having been long in existence.
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Be

Beam\, n. [AS. be['a]m beam, post, tree, ray of light; akin to OFries. b[=a]m tree, OS. b?m, D. boom, OHG. boum, poum, G. baum, Icel. ba?mr, Goth. bahms and Gr. ? a growth, ? to become, to be. Cf. L. radius staff, rod, spoke of a wheel, beam or ray, and G. strahl arrow, spoke of a wheel, ray or beam, flash of lightning. ?97. See Be; cf. Boom a spar.]

1. Any large piece of timber or iron long in proportion to its thickness, and prepared for use.

2. One of the principal horizontal timbers of a building or ship.

The beams of a vessel are strong pieces of timber stretching across from side to side to support the decks. --Totten.

3. The width of a vessel; as, one vessel is said to have more beam than another.

4. The bar of a balance, from the ends of which the scales are suspended.

The doubtful beam long nods from side to side. --Pope.

5. The principal stem or horn of a stag or other deer, which bears the antlers, or branches.

6. The pole of a carriage. [Poetic] --Dryden.

7. A cylinder of wood, making part of a loom, on which weavers wind the warp before weaving; also, the cylinder on which the cloth is rolled, as it is woven; one being called the fore beam, the other the back beam.

8. The straight part or shank of an anchor.

9. The main part of a plow, to which the handles and colter are secured, and to the end of which are attached the oxen or horses that draw it.

10. (Steam Engine) A heavy iron lever having an oscillating motion on a central axis, one end of which is connected with the piston rod from which it receives motion, and the other with the crank of the wheel shaft; -- called also working beam or walking beam.

11. A ray or collection of parallel rays emitted from the sun or other luminous body; as, a beam of light, or of heat.

How far that little candle throws his beams ! --Shak.

12. Fig.: A ray; a gleam; as, a beam of comfort.

Mercy with her genial beam. --Keble.

13. One of the long feathers in the wing of a hawk; -- called also beam feather.

Abaft the beam (Naut.), in an arc of the horizon between a line that crosses the ship at right angles, or in the direction of her beams, and that point of the compass toward which her stern is directed.

Beam center (Mach.), the fulcrum or pin on which the working beam of an engine vibrates.

Beam compass, an instrument consisting of a rod or beam, having sliding sockets that carry steel or pencil points; -- used for drawing or describing large circles.

Beam engine, a steam engine having a working beam to transmit power, in distinction from one which has its piston rod attached directly to the crank of the wheel shaft.

Before the beam (Naut.), in an arc of the horizon included between a line that crosses the ship at right angles and that point of the compass toward which the ship steers.

On the beam, in a line with the beams, or at right angled with the keel.

On the weather beam, on the side of a ship which faces the wind.

To be on her beam ends, to incline, as a vessel, so much on one side that her beams approach a vertical position.
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Be

Bee\, p. p. of Be; -- used for been. [Obs.] --Spenser.
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Be

Been\ [OE. beon, ben, bin, p. p. of been, beon, to be. See Be.] The past participle of Be. In old authors it is also the pr. tense plural of Be. See 1st Bee.

Assembled been a senate grave and stout. --Fairfax.
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Be

Been\ [OE. beon, ben, bin, p. p. of been, beon, to be. See Be.] The past participle of Be. In old authors it is also the pr. tense plural of Be. See 1st Bee.

Assembled been a senate grave and stout. --Fairfax.
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Be

Been\ [OE. beon, ben, bin, p. p. of been, beon, to be. See Be.] The past participle of Be. In old authors it is also the pr. tense plural of Be. See 1st Bee.

Assembled been a senate grave and stout. --Fairfax.
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Be

Be"ing\, p. pr. from Be. Existing.

Note: Being was formerly used where we now use having. "Being to go to a ball in a few days." --Miss Edgeworth.

Note: In modern usage, is, are, was or were being, with a past participle following (as built, made, etc.) indicates the process toward the completed result expressed by the participle. The form is or was building, in this passive signification, is idiomatic, and, if free from ambiguity, is commonly preferable to the modern is or was being built. The last form of speech is, however, sufficiently authorized by approved writers. The older expression was is, or was, a-building or in building.

A man who is being strangled. --Lamb.

While the article on Burns was being written. --Froude.

Fresh experience is always being gained. --Jowett (Thucyd. )
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Be

Ben\ An old form of the pl. indic. pr. of Be. [Obs.]
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Be

Bin\ An old form of Be and Been. [Obs.]
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Ex*ist"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Existed; p. pr. & vb. n. Existing.] [L. existere, exsistere, to step out or forth, emerge, appear, exist; ex out + sistere to cause to stand, to set, put, place, stand still, fr. stare to stand: cf. F. exister. See Stand.]

1. To be as a fact and not as a mode; to have an actual or real being, whether material or spiritual.

Who now, alas! no more is missed Than if he never did exist. --Swift.

To conceive the world . . . to have existed from eternity. --South.

2. To be manifest in any manner; to continue to be; as, great evils existed in his reign.

3. To live; to have life or the functions of vitality; as, men can not exist water, nor fishes on land.

Syn: See Be.
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Fa"vor\, n. [Written also favour.] [OF. favor, F. faveur, L. favor, fr. favere to be favorable, cf. Skr. bh[=a]vaya to further, foster, causative of bh[=u] to become, be. Cf. Be. In the phrase to curry favor, favor is prob. for favel a horse. See 2d Favel.]

1. Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will.

Hath crawled into the favor of the king. --Shak.

2. The act of countenancing, or the condition of being countenanced, or regarded propitiously; support; promotion; befriending.

But found no favor in his lady's eyes. --Dryden.

And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. --Luke ii. 52.

3. A kind act or office; kindness done or granted; benevolence shown by word or deed; an act of grace or good will, as distinct from justice or remuneration.

Beg one favor at thy gracious hand. --Shak.

4. Mildness or mitigation of punishment; lenity.

I could not discover the lenity and favor of this sentence. --Swift.

5. The object of regard; person or thing favored.

All these his wondrous works, but chiefly man, His chief delight and favor. --Milton.

6. A gift or represent; something bestowed as an evidence of good will; a token of love; a knot of ribbons; something worn as a token of affection; as, a marriage favor is a bunch or knot of white ribbons or white flowers worn at a wedding.

Wear thou this favor for me, and stick it in thy cap. --Shak.

7. Appearance; look; countenance; face. [Obs.]

This boy is fair, of female favor. --Shak.

8. (Law) Partiality; bias. --Bouvier.

9. A letter or epistle; -- so called in civility or compliment; as, your favor of yesterday is received.

10. pl. Love locks. [Obs.] --Wright.

Challenge to the favor or for favor (Law), the challenge of a juror on grounds not sufficient to constitute a principal challenge, but sufficient to give rise to a probable suspicion of favor or bias, such as acquaintance, business relation, etc. See Principal challenge, under Challenge.

In favor of, upon the side of; favorable to; for the advantage of.

In favor with, favored, countenanced, or encouraged by.

To curry favor [see the etymology of Favor, above], to seek to gain favor by flattery, caresses, kindness, or officious civilities.

With one's favor, or By one's favor, with leave; by kind permission.

But, with your favor, I will treat it here. --Dryden.

Syn: Kindness; countenance; patronage; support; lenity; grace; gift; present; benefit.
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Fi"at\, n. [L., let it be done, 3d pers. sing., subj. pres., fr. fieri, used as pass. of facere to make. Cf. Be.]

1. An authoritative command or order to do something; an effectual decree.

His fiat laid the corner stone. --Willis.

2. (Eng. Law) (a) A warrant of a judge for certain processes. (b) An authority for certain proceedings given by the Lord Chancellor's signature.

Fiat money, irredeemable paper currency, not resting on a specie basis, but deriving its purchasing power from the declaratory fiat of the government issuing it.
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Fu"ture\ (?; 135), a. [F. futur, L. futurus, used as fut. p. of esse to be, but from the same root as E. be. See Be, v. i.] That is to be or come hereafter; that will exist at any time after the present; as, the next moment is future, to the present.

Future tense (Gram.), the tense or modification of a verb which expresses a future act or event.
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Be

Imp\, n. [OE. imp a graft, AS. impa; akin to Dan. ympe, Sw. ymp, prob. fr. LL. impotus, Gr. ? engrafted, innate, fr. ? to implant; ? in + ? to produce; akin to E. be. See 1st In-, Be.]

1. A shoot; a scion; a bud; a slip; a graft. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

2. An offspring; progeny; child; scion. [Obs.]

The tender imp was weaned. --Fairfax.

3. A young or inferior devil; a little, malignant spirit; a puny demon; a contemptible evil worker.

To mingle in the clamorous fray Of squabbling imps. --Beattie.

4. Something added to, or united with, another, to lengthen it out or repair it, -- as, an addition to a beehive; a feather inserted in a broken wing of a bird; a length of twisted hair in a fishing line. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
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Is\, v. i. [AS. is; akin to G. & Goth. ist, L. est, Gr. ?, Skr. asti. [root]9. Cf. Am, Entity, Essence, Absent.] The third person singular of the substantive verb be, in the indicative mood, present tense; as, he is; he is a man. See Be.

Note: In some varieties of the Northern dialect of Old English, is was used for all persons of the singular.

For thy is I come, and eke Alain. --Chaucer.

Aye is thou merry. --Chaucer.

Note: The idiom of using the present for future events sure to happen is a relic of Old English in which the present and future had the same form; as, this year Christmas is on Friday.

To-morrow is the new moon. --1 Sam. xx. 5.
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Ne"o*phyte\, n. [L. neophytis, Gr. ?, prop., newly planted; ? new + ? grown, ? that which has grown, a plant, fr. ? to grow: cf. F. n['e]ophyte. See New, and Be.]

1. A new convert or proselyte; -- a name given by the early Christians, and still given by the Roman Catholics, to such as have recently embraced the Christian faith, and been admitted to baptism, esp. to converts from heathenism or Judaism.

2. A novice; a tyro; a beginner in anything.
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Nut"shell`\, n. 1. The shell or hard external covering in which the kernel of a nut is inclosed.

2. Hence, a thing of little compass, or of little value.

3. (Zo["o]l.) A shell of the genus Nucula.

To be, or lie, in a nutshell, to be within a small compass; to admit of very brief or simple determination or statement. "The remedy lay in a nutshell." --Macaulay.
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Be

Phys"ic\, n. [OE. phisike, fisike, OF. phisique, F. physique knowledge of nature, physics, L. physica, physice, fr. Gr. ?, fr. fysiko`s natural, from fy`sis nature, fr. ? to produce, grow, akin to E. be. See Be, and cf. Physics, Physique.]

1. The art of healing diseases; the science of medicine; the theory or practice of medicine. "A doctor of physik." --Chaucer.

2. A specific internal application for the cure or relief of sickness; a remedy for disease; a medicine.

3. Specifically, a medicine that purges; a cathartic.

4. A physician. [R.] --Shak.

Physic nut (Bot.), a small tropical American euphorbiaceous tree (Jatropha Curcas), and its seeds, which are well flavored, but contain a drastic oil which renders them dangerous if eaten in large quantities.
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Were\ (w[~e]r; 277). [AS. w[=ae]re (thou) wast, w[=ae]ron (we, you, they) were, w[=ae]re imp. subj. See Was.] The imperfect indicative plural, and imperfect subjunctive singular and plural, of the verb be. See Be.
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Be

Y*be"\, obs. p. p. of Be. Been. --Chaucer.
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Be

Zo"["o]*phyte\, n. [F. zoophyte, Gr. ?; zw^,on an animal + ? plant, akin to ? to be born, to be. See Zodiac, and Be, v. i.] (Zo["o]l.) (a) Any one of numerous species of invertebrate animals which more or less resemble plants in appearance, or mode of growth, as the corals, gorgonians, sea anemones, hydroids, bryozoans, sponges, etc., especially any of those that form compound colonies having a branched or treelike form, as many corals and hydroids. (b) Any one of the Zo["o]phyta.
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be
Belorusian

The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
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Be
  1. beryllium
  2. excess burst

The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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BE
  1. Bachelor of Education
  2. Bachelor of Engineering
  3. barium enema
  4. board eligi