Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

been

/ˈbɪn/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 6.27 in modern English

Syllables: been
IPA: /ˈbɪn/

6

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

3

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

past participle of be.

verb

remote past form of be.

verb

Synonym of be (infinitival sense).

verb

plural simple present of be.

Obsolete

noun

British usage

Example Sentences

"All the fries have been eaten."
"We're safe, but the car's been totaled."
"Postman been?"
"They been here since yesterday. (dialectal, e.g. AAVE, omitting have)"
"He been had that job."
"We been knew they was doing this."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Germanic *ga- Proto-West Germanic *ga- Old English ġe- Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *bʰuHyétider.? Proto-Germanic *beuną Proto-West Germanic *beun Old English bēon Old English ġebēon Middle English been English been From Middle English been (past participle), from Old English (ġe)bēon. By surface analysis, be + -en.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: been, bēon
Suffix: be, bee

Usage

Obsolete
British usage

Synonyms

be

Homonyms

bin bean Ben

Rhymes With

within win win-win skin begin thin min spin berlin sin twin pin

Questions

How do you pronounce been?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈbɪn/.
What does been mean?: past participle of be.
Where does been come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce been

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “been”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈbɪn/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “been”.
Repeat and practice — Say “been” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.