were

¹ American  

[wur, wer, wair] / wɜr, wər, wɛər /

verb

1. a second person singular past indicative; first, second, and third person plural past indicative; and past subjunctive of be.

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we're ² American  

[weer] / wɪər /

1. contraction of we are:

   We're happy to see you.

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were ¹ British  

/ wɜː, wə /

verb

1. the plural form of the past tense (indicative mood) of be and the singular form used with you. It is also used as a subjunctive, esp in conditional sentences

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we're ² British  

/ wɪə /

contraction

1. we are

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Grammar

See subjunctive.

Usage

See contraction.

Were, as a remnant of the past subjunctive in English, is used in formal contexts in clauses expressing hypotheses ( if he were to die, she would inherit everything ), suppositions contrary to fact ( if I were you, I would be careful ), and desire ( I wish he were there now ). In informal speech, however, was is often used instead

Etymology

Origin of were

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English wǣre past subjunctive, wǣre 2nd-person singular past and wǣron 2nd-person plural past of wesan “to be”; cognate with Dutch, German waren, Danish var. See was

Example Sentences

For oil-starved Asian economies, shutting off an estimated one million barrels of Iranian oil a day makes things even bleaker than they already were.

From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026

According to last Wednesday’s data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, 30-year fixed mortgage rates were 6.51%, down from 6.57% in the prior week.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 13, 2026

Wizz Air and easyJet—which were subject to rating downgrades by Bernstein before the market opened—see the biggest falls at 7.2% and 4.2%, respectively.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

Shares of Nvidia were down 1.1% at $186.55 in premarket trading Monday.

From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026

When we were in need, the ancestors called us here.

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