was

American  

[wuhz, woz, wuhz] / wʌz, wɒz, wəz /

verb

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

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was British  

/ 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?

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Etymology

Origin of was

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

Example Sentences

She wishes the pricing was more inclusive, like it used to be.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026

When I really took an interest in learning more about the sport, and I started to play decades later, I was hooked.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

Later on Friday, Nike said its chief innovation officer, Tony Bignell, was departing the company “to pursue his creative and philanthropic passions.”

From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026

“He kind of hit it and it went quite a bit farther and his reaction was quite cool,” said Koepka.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

It was a propane tank turkey fryer and worked great for frybread.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith