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

MGM’s classic 1939 adaptation starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon was billed as “The Greatest Love Story of All Time . . . Or Any Time!” a pronouncement that the trailer for the new film echoes.

From Salon

"It was a great honor to be appointed by the Court as Interim United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia," Hundley said, in part, in a statement to the BBC.

From BBC

After joining the army eight years ago, Wilde was with the Welsh Guards until Christmas before moving to the Royal Yorkshire Regiment.

From BBC

NASA's launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson had earlier said that Thursday's simulation felt like "a big step in us earning our right to fly", adding that he was "very proud "of the team.

From BBC

In 1822, F. & R. Lockwood, a small cartography firm in New York, published what historians today believe was the first of its kind: a board game invented and marketed in America.

From The Wall Street Journal