be 1 of 2

verb (1)

ˈbē How to pronounce be (audio)
Definition of benext
1
as in to live
to have life stories that begin with the familiar line "once upon a time there was a beautiful maiden"

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to stand
to occupy a place or location we'll be there waiting for you

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3
as in to rank
to take or have a certain position within a group arranged in vertical classes our school's football team is first in its division

Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in to happen
to take place the party is next Saturday

Synonyms & Similar Words

be (to)

2 of 2

verb (2)

as in to treat
to behave toward in a stated way you need to be nice to your brother

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of be
Verb
When business conditions and priorities change quickly, employees look to leadership for reassurance even when there are no easy answers. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026 Unlike Leti and Teresa’s visit to Normandy, there was no family history awaiting them, but Susan’s desire to go was reason enough. — Jenn Sinrich, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Oct. 2026 But yeah, there was certainly less [socializing] than there’d normally be. — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026 There are also biographies of David Beckham, Bob Dylan, Carole King, Marilyn Monroe, and Audrey Hepburn. — Hikmat Mohammed, ARTnews.com, 10 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for be
Recent Examples of Synonyms for be
  1. live
  2. stand
  3. rank
  4. happen
  5. exist
  6. lie
  7. place
  8. come
Verb
  • To rely on him on a day-to-day basis is to live under conditions of constant disappointment.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Authorities said at the time that the 3-year-old wasn't harmed, and bomb technicians were able to remove and dispose of the device in a rural area outside of the town where his family lived.
    — Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of live
Verb
  • If successful, each B-52 should be capable of carrying similar payloads of LRASM as JASSM, which currently stands at around 20 per airframe.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 11 Oct. 2026
  • With clients walking out and a competitor putting the agency’s standing at risk, the siblings scramble to save both their income and what their mother built.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of stand
Verb
  • Grant’s comeback hopefully will bode well to an interior defensive line unit that has the Dolphins playing admirable—ranked 15th—against the run.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Their continued descent down the rankings is also likely having an effect on how AP voters rank Boise State.
    — Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of rank
Verb
  • His big adult break happened when visiting his sister in San Francisco in 1954.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Researchers can model what happens if copper prices increase sharply or if a newer technology becomes commercially viable years from now.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of happen
Verb
  • College sports simply can’t exist in its present form without bankrupting our colleges and universities.
    — Bruce Svare, Sportico.com, 17 Oct. 2026
  • However, the order preserves existing sanctions on Russia under earlier executive orders.
    — Azhar Sukri, CNBC, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of exist
Verb
  • The fight was now about accusations of lying, whether the item was for sale, and what actually happened in the store.
    — Bilin Lin, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The smartphones lying idle in drawers could serve as brains for the bipedal bot.
    — muskanbhatia, Interesting Engineering, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of lie
Verb
  • These building-block hats can be placed next to one another to create bigger and bigger shapes that also look like the hat.
    — Rachel Crowell, Scientific American, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Everyone exiting the show had a Hawaiian-style plastic flower chain placed around their neck to send the off into the NoHo night, which might seem like an unexpectedly comic touch at the end of a show that is focused on … aliens.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of place
Verb
  • Monday's attack came a day after a Russian drone struck the village of Pisochyn in the Kharkiv district, killing three people and injuring nine others, including children, according to the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Most people come here for the ever-evolving menu of house cocktails.
    — Condé Nast, cntraveler.com, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of come

Phrases Containing be

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Cite this Entry

“Be.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/be. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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