was

[ wuhz, woz; unstressed wuhz ]

verb

1. first and third person singular past indicative of be.

was

/ wɒz; wəz /

verb

1. the past tense (indicative mood) of be 1
2. not_standard.
   a form of the subjunctive mood used in place of were, esp in conditional sentences

   if the film was to be with you, would you be able to process it?

Word History and Origins

Origin of was¹

First recorded before 950; Middle English; Old English wæs, past tense singular of wesan “to be”; cognate with Old Frisian, Old High German, Gothic was, Old Norse var; wassail

Word History and Origins

Origin of was¹

Old English wæs, from wesan to be; related to Old Frisian, Old High German was, Old Norse var

Example Sentences

Linda Hsiao was standing at a weathered work table inside her ceramics studio in Altadena.

From Los Angeles Times

It was the day after Halloween, and her two children, Saben Taylor, 5, and Wawona Hsiao, 3, worked alongside her, hand-sculpting clay vessels as wild as a child’s imagination.

From Los Angeles Times

From a young age, Hsiao, now 42, was drawn to working with her hands and taking art and sculpting classes.

From Los Angeles Times

However, living in New York was hard, and she missed gardening and the easy access to nature in California.

From Los Angeles Times

“Knotwork LA was created as an outlet to identify the work we do in our spare time,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times