be

verb

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"

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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

Synonyms & Similar Words
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

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 Fresh corn is a summertime staple, and there are plenty of delicious ways to put it to good use. — ABC News, 15 Aug. 2026 There are also a few cheeky nods to the area's Old West past, including saloon nights with live music and card games and outdoor firepits for roasting marshmallows. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Aug. 2026 Over the years, there’ve been so many different initiatives that then sprang out of these talks, which is another amazing thing. — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 14 Aug. 2026 As ARTnews‘s Sarah Douglas reported in January, there are easily two dozen director openings at museums across the country. — George Nelson, ARTnews.com, 14 Aug. 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
  • Studies have found, for example, that hospice patients with congestive heart failure or lung cancer live about a month longer, on average, than similar patients in the standard medical system.
    — Kim Clark, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • For many younger Cubans, Castro remains an icon, but his influence is less immediate for them than for older generations who lived under his leadership.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of live
Verb
  • Villa’s recent warm-up defeat to Bayern Munich, though a 2-1 loss, will have offered a useful gauge of what facing elite opposition demands and should stand them in good stead for the level of intensity this game in Salzburg will require.
    — Dean Jones, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Amid tight security, Najib stood inside a cage wearing a prisoner’s uniform as the judge read the sentence.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of stand
Verb
  • Najib was later detained and became one of the highest-ranking officials to be put on trial.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Minnesota ranked 29th in passing yards per game, 30th in QB rating and 32nd in turnovers.
    — Jacob Robinson, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of rank
Verb
  • And this is one of those things that flags my lack of comprehension of most things happening in my midst.
    — John Ramos, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • There’s no need to theorize about what happened here because the obvious answer is Bret Easton Ellis signed off on the first two episodes and then abandoned the adaptation.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of happen
Verb
  • Traffic in the waterway remains at less than a fifth of pre-war levels, and no genuinely safe shipping route exists in the region, according to a maritime intelligence group.
    — Tim Lister, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2026
  • For Minnesota, that could mean a new technology pathway built around an existing mining industry.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of exist
Verb
  • However, beneath the park lies an enormous volcanic system capable of producing eruptions far larger than those associated with conventional volcanoes.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Fierro Morales noted that western Colombia lies along a subduction zone, where one tectonic plate slides beneath another.
    — Sana Noor Haq, CNN Money, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of lie
Verb
  • Platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket allow people to place bets on the outcomes of real-world events.
    — Brady Halbleib, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Around the age of 10 I was enrolled in a community art class where, on the first day, we were instructed to sketch a bowl of fruit placed on a table in front of us.
    — Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of place
Verb
  • The report about the jet swap comes weeks after concerns about the safety of the new Qatar-gifted jet first emerged as the Ankara trip served as its international debut as the new Air Force One.
    — Siladitya Ray, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Bay Area-founded Starbird and its signature chicken — tenders, wings, nuggets, sandwiches, salads, wraps and more — will be available in the coming months at that corner of Mowry Avenue and Fremont Boulevard, the company has confirmed.
    — Linda Zavoral, Mercury News, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of come

Phrases Containing be

Browse Nearby Words

bazaars
be
beach
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Be.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/be. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on be

Nglish: Translation of be for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about be

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of circumscribe

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All