1
as in lived
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
3
as in ranked
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 happened
to take place
the party is next Saturday
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Recent Examples of been
Three races in, there’ve been unforeseen winners, unpredicted changes to the schedule and the unanticipated reality of regulation changes dawning.
—
Amanda Davies, CNN Money, 24 Apr. 2026
The fans who’ve been down with me since the ’99 and 2000s, the ones who’ve been riding with me all the way to now.
—Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 27 Mar. 2026
Phillips told Us Weekly there’d been the possibility of getting a kidney from her brother, Aron, but doctors ultimately turned him down.
—Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 28 Feb. 2026
And there’ve been many times throughout filming this where Paul and I were just sort of stranded, the two of us, and that offers a huge opportunity to bond.
—Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 14 Feb. 2026
Historically, the Air Jordan 15 been one of the least popular of Jordan’s signature shoes, but there is a segment of people who appreciate its oddball design, including Billie Eilish, who collaborated on it in 2021 and calls it her favorite Air Jordan.
—Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 13 Feb. 2026
How historic have the 2026 winter storms been?
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 7 Feb. 2026
Some who’d been leaders under previous coaches did not work for Payton, like guard Dalton Risner and safety Justin Simmons.
—Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 24 Jan. 2026
In Australia, the debate has been more fraught than almost anywhere else, and so the government’s announcement caught out even those who’ve been at the negotiating table.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 7 Nov. 2025
Amanda Davies, CNN Money, 24 Apr. 2026
The fans who’ve been down with me since the ’99 and 2000s, the ones who’ve been riding with me all the way to now.
—Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 27 Mar. 2026
Phillips told Us Weekly there’d been the possibility of getting a kidney from her brother, Aron, but doctors ultimately turned him down.
—Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 28 Feb. 2026
And there’ve been many times throughout filming this where Paul and I were just sort of stranded, the two of us, and that offers a huge opportunity to bond.
—Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 14 Feb. 2026
Historically, the Air Jordan 15 been one of the least popular of Jordan’s signature shoes, but there is a segment of people who appreciate its oddball design, including Billie Eilish, who collaborated on it in 2021 and calls it her favorite Air Jordan.
—Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 13 Feb. 2026
How historic have the 2026 winter storms been?
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 7 Feb. 2026
Some who’d been leaders under previous coaches did not work for Payton, like guard Dalton Risner and safety Justin Simmons.
—Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 24 Jan. 2026
In Australia, the debate has been more fraught than almost anywhere else, and so the government’s announcement caught out even those who’ve been at the negotiating table.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 7 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for been
Verb
-
Like Van Ness, Morgan is a former first-round pick who hasn’t yet lived up to that billing but has a chance to do so this season while playing the most pivotal role of his career so far.—
Matt Schneidman,
New York Times,
28 May 2026
-
But those efforts did their part to contribute to the overall sense of the Cannes Film Festival as the center of the moviegoing world for 11 days in May, somewhere where crass corporate product lived alongside uncompromising arthouse efforts in a broad-spectrum display of what constitutes cinema.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
Levi Jones, a 33-year-old business owner, pulled up to Sacred Eye Tattoos in Hollywood last week and sat for eight hours getting a photorealistic black-and-white portrait of Mangione on his leg.—
Amanda Rosa,
Orlando Sentinel,
24 Dec. 2024
-
The birthday boy and his big sister Sterling Skye, 3, each sat between one of their parents’ laps.—
Angel Saunders,
People.com,
24 Dec. 2024
Verb
-
In a survey of PE firms and their institutional investors this month by consulting firm Campbell Lutyens, investors ranked their appetite for LNG projects midway down a list of 20 energy subsectors, in between biogas and carbon capture.—
Tim McDonnell,
semafor.com,
28 May 2026
-
The website also ranked the best places to live in Kansas, with three Kansas City-area cities making the list.—
Zuri Primos
May 28,
Kansas City Star,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
The incident happened during a peaceful ceasefire rally outside the South San Francisco Public Library on April 10, 2024, prosecutors said.—
Jason Green,
Mercury News,
29 May 2026
-
The shooting happened on a playground at Pennsylvania Avenue and Dolphin Street next to Templeton Elementary School in the Upton community.—
Mike Hellgren,
CBS News,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
These are much higher numbers than the level of mutual suspicion that existed before World War I.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 May 2026
-
In their extensive search, Starbucks discovered the story of a family tradition that has existed in generations in several Italian regions—the ritual of enjoying a spoonful of extra-virgin olive oil each day.—
Condé Nast Traveler,
Condé Nast Traveler,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
When folding in Monday earnings, Mando‘s global total through May 25 stood at $167 million, just ahead of the the film’s reported net budget of $165 million before marketing and on par with Solo.—
Pamela McClintock,
HollywoodReporter,
26 May 2026
-
My mother had stood weeping outside the same door.—
Amer Matar,
The Dial,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
Each person held their sarongs in different ways, over both shoulders or draped on one, around their necks, balled up in a fist, placed neatly on a lap.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 May 2026
-
Next week’s launch would have been only New Glenn’s fourth, after its third flight on April 19 placed a satellite for the company AST SpaceMobile in an orbit that was lower than planned because of a malfunction of the rocket’s second stage.—
Lee Billings,
Scientific American,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Tracy acknowledged that the recovery hasn’t gone as smoothly as expected, but emphasized that isn’t because of anything Anthony’s done wrong.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
30 May 2026
-
Unfortunately for the Trojans, Texas State wasn’t done yet.—
Jose de Jesus Ortiz,
Los Angeles Times,
30 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Been.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/been. Accessed 2 Jun. 2026.
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