Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - be

 abbreviation  1. bachelor of education  2. bachelor of engineering  3. bill of exchange  4. Black English BE  abbreviation Baume BE  symbol beryllium BE  verb  (past first & third singular was; second singular were; plural were; past subjunctive were; past part ~en; present part ~ing; present first singular am; second singular are; third singular is; plural are; present subjunctive ~)  Etymology: Middle English, from Old English beon; akin to Old High German bim am, Latin fui I have ~en, futurus about to ~, fieri to ~come, ~ done, Greek phynai to ~ born, ~ by nature, phyein to produce  Date: ~fore 12th century  intransitive verb  1.  a. to equal in meaning ; have the same connotation as ; symbolize God is love January is the first month let x ~ 10  b. to have identity with the first person I met was my brother  c. to constitute the same class as  d. to have a specified qualification or characterization the leaves are green  e. to ~long to the class of the fish is a trout — used regularly in senses 1a through 1e as the copula of simple predication  2.  a. to have an objective existence ; have reality or actuality ; live I think, therefore I am once upon a time there was a knight  b. to have, maintain, or occupy a place, situation, or position the book is on the table  c. to remain unmolested, undistur~d, or uninterrupted — used only in infinitive form let him ~  d. to take place ; occur the concert was last night  e. to come or go has already ~en and gone has never ~en to the circus  f. archaic ~long, ~fall  verbal auxiliary  1. — used with the past participle of transitive verbs as a passive-voice auxiliary the money was found the house is ~ing built  2. — used as the auxiliary of the present participle in progressive tenses expressing continuous action he is reading I have ~en sleeping  3. — used with the past participle of some intransitive verbs as an auxiliary forming archaic perfect tenses Christ is risen from the dead — 1 Corinthians 15:20(Douay Version)  4. — used with the infinitive with to to express futurity, arrangement in advance, or obligation I am to interview him today she was to ~come famous