Meaning & Definition of Be in English

1. A light strong brittle grey toxic bivalent metallic element

1. Have the quality of being

• (Copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)

• "John is rich"

• "This is not a good answer"

2. Be identical to

• Be someone or something

• "The president of the company is john smith"

• "This is my house"

3. Occupy a certain position or area

• Be somewhere

• "Where is my umbrella?" "the toolshed is in the back"

• "What is behind this behavior?"

4. Have an existence, be extant

• "Is there a god?"

5. Happen, occur, take place

• "I lost my wallet

• This was during the visit to my parents' house"

• "There were two hundred people at his funeral"

• "There was a lot of noise in the kitchen"

6. Be identical or equivalent to

• "One dollar equals 1,000 rubles these days!"

7. Form or compose

• "This money is my only income"

• "The stone wall was the backdrop for the performance"

• "These constitute my entire belonging"

• "The children made up the chorus"

• "This sum represents my entire income for a year"

• "These few men comprise his entire army"

8. Work in a specific place, with a specific subject, or in a specific function

• "He is a herpetologist"

• "She is our resident philosopher"

9. Represent, as of a character on stage

• "Derek jacobi was hamlet"

10. Spend or use time

• "I may be an hour"

11. Have life, be alive

• "Our great leader is no more"

• "My grandfather lived until the end of war"

12. To remain unmolested, undisturbed, or uninterrupted -- used only in infinitive form

• "Let her be"

13. Be priced at

• "These shoes cost $100"