Entry Word: be

Function: verb

Meaning: 1 to have life <stories that begin with the familiar line “once upon a time there was a beautiful maiden”>

Synonyms breathe, exist, live, subsist

Related Words abide, continue, endure, last, lead, persist, survive; move; flourish, prosper, thrive

Near Antonyms disappear, evaporate, vanish; cease, end, stop

Antonyms depart, die, expire, pass away, perish, succumb

2 to occupy a place or location <we'll be there waiting for you> — see stand 1
3 to take or have a certain position within a group arranged in vertical classes <our schoolʼs football team is first in its division> — see rank 1
4 to take place <the party is next Saturday> — see happen