■ verb ( sing. present am ; are ; is ; plural present are ; 1st and 3rd singular past was ; 2nd singular past and plural past were ; present subjunctive ~ ; past subjunctive were ; present participle ~ing ; past participle ~en )
1》 (usu. there is/are ) exist; ~ present.
2》 take place.
↘occupy a position in space.
↘stay in the same place or condition.
↘come; go; visit.
3》 (when connecting a subject and complement) having the specified state, nature, or role: Amy was 91.
↘represent or signify.
■ auxiliary verb
1》 used with a present participle to form continuous tenses.
2》 used with a past participle to form the passive voice.
3》 used to indicate something that is due to happen.
↘used to express obligation or necessity.
↘used to hypothesize about something that might happen.
Phrases
the ~-all and end-all informal a feature of an activity that is of greater importance than any other.
not ~ oneself not feel in one's usual physical or mental state.
-to-~ of the future: his bride-to-~.
Origin
OE bēon , an irregular verb whose full conjugation derives from several orig. distinct verbs; the forms am and is are related to L. sum and est .