been

[bin] /bɪn/
verb
1.
past participle of be.
Can be confused
bean, been, Ben, bin.

be

[bee; unstressed bee, bi] /bi; unstressed bi, bɪ/
verb (used without object), present singular 1st person am, 2nd are or (Archaic) art, 3rd is, present plural are; past singular 1st person was, 2nd were or (Archaic) wast or wert, 3rd was, past plural were; present subjunctive be; past subjunctive singular 1st person were, 2nd were or (Archaic) wert, 3rd were; past subjunctive plural were; past participle been; present participle being.
1.
to exist or live:
Shakespeare's “To be or not to be” is the ultimate question.
2.
to take place; happen; occur:
The wedding was last week.
3.
to occupy a place or position:
The book is on the table.
4.
to continue or remain as before:
Let things be.
5.
to belong; attend; befall:
May good fortune be with you.
6.
(used as a copula to connect the subject with its predicate adjective, or predicate nominative, in order to describe, identify, or amplify the subject):
Martha is tall. John is president. This is she.
7.
(used as a copula to introduce or form interrogative or imperative sentences):
Is that right? Be quiet! Don't be facetious.
auxiliary verb, present singular 1st person am, 2nd are or (Archaic) art, 3rd is, present plural are; past singular 1st person was, 2nd were or (Archaic) wast or wert, 3rd was, past plural were; present subjunctive be; past subjunctive singular 1st person were, 2nd were or (Archaic) wert, 3rd were; past subjunctive plural were; past participle been; present participle being.
8.
(used with the present participle of another verb to form the progressive tense):
I am waiting.
9.
(used with the present participle or infinitive of the principal verb to indicate future action):
She is visiting there next week. He is to see me today.
10.
(used with the past participle of another verb to form the passive voice):
The date was fixed. It must be done.
11.
(used in archaic or literary constructions with some intransitive verbs to form the perfect tense):
He is come. Agamemnon to the wars is gone.
Origin
before 900; Middle English been, Old English bēon (bēo- (akin to Old Frisian, Old High German bim, German bin, Old Saxon bium, biom (I) am, Old English, Old High German, Old Saxon būan, Old Norse būa reside, Latin fuī (I) have been, Greek phy- grow, become, Old Irish boí (he) was, Sanskrit bhávati (he) becomes, is, Lithuanian búti to be, OCS byti, Persian būd was)) + -n infinitive suffix. See am, is, are1, was, were
Can be confused
be, bee.
Usage note
See me.
Examples from the web for been
  • Stories of crimes and dangerous behavior, mostly anecdotal, have been used as fuel by those who say the protesters must go.
  • Librarians have been saying they want and need to buy more scholarly monographs in electronic format.
  • But, overall, the emerging world will be less of a buoy to global growth than it has been hitherto.
  • The belief that animals can predict earthquakes has been around for centuries.
  • The system should be installed after the lawn area has been graded.
  • The normally wide, traffic-choked streets lined with neem trees have been unexpectedly clear.
  • Polls taken long before a presidential election have been wrong before.
  • Only a handful of wild animal species have been successfully bred to get along with humans.
  • Having a mixed up body clock has been linked to a vast array of ailments, including obesity and bipolar disorder.
  • Even if you haven't been on the water before, you can start sailing by easing into it.
British Dictionary definitions for been

been

/biːn; bɪn/
verb
1.
the past participle of be1

be1

/biː; unstressed bɪ/
verb (intransitive) (pres. sing. 1st pers) am (2nd pers) are (3rd pers) is (present:pl) are (past:singular:1st_person) was (2nd pers) were (3rd pers) was (past:plural) were (pres. part) being (past part) been
1.
to have presence in the realm of perceived reality; exist; live: I think, therefore I am, not all that is can be understood
2.
(used in the perfect or past perfect tenses only) to pay a visit; go: have you been to Spain?
3.
to take place; occur: my birthday was last Thursday
4.
(copula) used as a linking verb between the subject of a sentence and its noun or adjective complement or complementing phrase. In this case be expresses the relationship of either essential or incidental equivalence or identity (John is a man; John is a musician) or specifies an essential or incidental attribute (honey is sweet; Susan is angry). It is also used with an adverbial complement to indicate a relationship of location in space or time (Bill is at the office; the dance is on Saturday)
5.
(takes a present participle) forms the progressive present tense: the man is running
6.
(takes a past participle) forms the passive voice of all transitive verbs and (archaically) certain intransitive ones: a good film is being shown on television tonight, I am done
7.
(takes an infinitive) expresses intention, expectation, supposition, or obligation: the president is to arrive at 9.30, you are not to leave before I say so
8.
(takes a past participle) forms the perfect or past perfect tense of certain intransitive verbs of motion, such as go or come: the last train is gone
9.
be that as it may, the facts concerning (something) are of no importance
Word Origin
Old English bēon; related to Old High German bim am, Latin fui I have been, Greek phuein to bring forth, Sanskrit bhavati he is

be2

abbreviation
1.
Belgium

Be

Chemical symbol
1.
beryllium

BE

abbreviation
1.
bill of exchange
2.
(in the US) Board of Education
3.
Bachelor of Education
4.
Bachelor of Engineering

Bé

abbreviation
1.
Baumé
Word Origin and History for been
v.

past participle of be. Dismissive slang phrase been there, done that attested from 1994 (been there "had the experience," usually of something disreputable, is from 1880s).

be

v.

Old English beon, beom, bion "be, exist, come to be, become, happen," from Proto-Germanic *biju- "I am, I will be." This "b-root" is from PIE root *bheue- "to be, exist, grow, come into being," and in addition to the words in English it yielded German present first and second person singular (bin, bist, from Old High German bim "I am," bist "thou art"), Latin perfective tenses of esse (fui "I was," etc.), Old Church Slavonic byti "be," Greek phu- "become," Old Irish bi'u "I am," Lithuanian bu'ti "to be," Russian byt' "to be," etc. It also is behind Sanskrit bhavah "becoming," bhavati "becomes, happens," bhumih "earth, world."

The modern verb to be in its entirety represents the merger of two once-distinct verbs, the "b-root" represented by be and the am/was verb, which was itself a conglomerate. Roger Lass ("Old English") describes the verb as "a collection of semantically related paradigm fragments," while Weekley calls it "an accidental conglomeration from the different Old English dial[ect]s." It is the most irregular verb in Modern English and the most common. Collective in all Germanic languages, it has eight different forms in Modern English:

BE (infinitive, subjunctive, imperative)
AM (present 1st person singular)
ARE (present 2nd person singular and all plural)
IS (present 3rd person singular)
WAS (past 1st and 3rd persons singular)
WERE (past 2nd person singular, all plural; subjunctive)
BEING (progressive & present participle; gerund)
BEEN (perfect participle).

The paradigm in Old English was:

SING. PL.
1st pres. ic eom
ic beo		 we sind(on)
we beoð
2nd pres. þu eart
þu bist		 ge sind(on)
ge beoð
3rd pres. he is
he bið		 hie sind(on)
hie beoð
1st pret. ic wæs we wæron
2nd pret. þu wære ge waeron
3rd pret. heo wæs hie wæron
1st pret. subj. ic wære we wæren
2nd pret. subj. þu wære ge wæren
3rd pret. subj. Egcferð wære hie wæren


The "b-root" had no past tense in Old English, but often served as future tense of am/was. In 13c. it took the place of the infinitive, participle and imperative forms of am/was. Later its plural forms (we beth, ye ben, they be) became standard in Middle English and it made inroads into the singular (I be, thou beest, he beth), but forms of are claimed this turf in the 1500s and replaced be in the plural. For the origin and evolution of the am/was branches of this tangle, see am and was.
That but this blow Might be the be all, and the end all. ["Macbeth" I.vii.5]

been in Medicine

Be
The symbol for the element beryllium.

been in Science
Be  
The symbol for beryllium.
Related Abbreviations for been

be

Belorusian

Be

  1. beryllium
  2. excess burst

BE

  1. Bachelor of Education
  2. Bachelor of Engineering
  3. barium enema
  4. board eligible
  5. Board of Education

Bé

Baumé scale
Idioms and Phrases with been

be

also see:
let be
Encyclopedia Article for been

be

any of the hereditary occupational groups in early Japan (c. 5th-mid-7th century), established to provide specific economic services and a continuous inflow of revenue for the uji, or lineage groups. Each be was thus subsidiary to one of the uji into which all of Japanese society was then divided, and each kakibe, or worker, was effectively owned by the chief of his uji. Most be were agricultural units, producing rice for themselves and their superiors, but some engaged in crafts, fishing, or specific court functions. Those that acted as scribes, interpreters, diviners, or reciters for the court were national organizations; most other types of be were local

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