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

Information on cardiovascular medicines was obtained from the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register.

From Science Daily

"The reference genome was like a dictionary when we announced it," Ma said.

From Science Daily

The pair had worked together on a 2006 musical production of “The Notebook” and she said Teal was “the kind of guy who could light up a room without trying.”

From Los Angeles Times

“I felt like I was legitimately dying,” Rife told The Times in an August interview.

From Los Angeles Times

“Going through an ugly divorce while I was in the public eye as a Christian artist — rocks would have been thrown at me,” he says.

From Los Angeles Times