Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

were

/wə(ɹ)/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 6.34 in modern English

Syllables: were
IPA: /wə(ɹ)/

7

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

3

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

second-person singular simple past indicative of be

verb

plural simple past indicative of be

verb

simple subjunctive of be

verb

first/third-person singular simple past indicative of be.

noun

Alternative form of wer (“man; wergeld”).

noun

The collective name for any kind of person that changes into another form under certain conditions, including the werewolf.

Slang

Example Sentences

"John, you were the only person to see him."
"We were about to leave."
"Mary and John, you were right."
"They were a fine group."
"They were to be the best of friends from that day on."
"I wish that it were Sunday."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂wes-der. Proto-Germanic *wēzīn Proto-West Germanic *wāʀīn Old English wǣre Old English wǣron Old English wǣren Middle English were English were Inherited from Middle English were, weren, from Old English wǣre, wǣron, wǣren, from Proto-West Germanic *wāʀun, *wāʀīn, from Proto-Germanic *wēzun, *wēzīn, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wes-. More at was.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: were, wǣre, *wāʀun, *wesaną, *h₂wes-

Usage

Slang

Inflected Forms

ware (alternative) weare (alternative, obsolete) weres (plural)

Frequently Paired Words

am are art be been beest being is

Synonyms

wast wert

Homonyms

we're whirr (wine–whine merger, fern–fir–fur merger) ware (fair–fur merger) where (fair–fur merger, wine–whine merger)

Rhymes With

her per sir transfer prefer occur refer der inter fur entrepreneur stir

Questions

How do you pronounce were?: The recorded pronunciation is /wə(ɹ)/.
What does were mean?: second-person singular simple past indicative of be
Where does were come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce were

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “were”.
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