been

1 of 2

verb

past participle of be

intransitive verb

1

a

: to equal in meaning : have the same connotation as : symbolize

January is the first month.

let x be 10

b

: to have identity with : to constitute the same idea or object as

The first person I met was my brother.

c

: to constitute the same class as

These three books are the authoritative works on the president's life.

d

: to have a specified qualification or characterization

The leaves are green.

e

: to belong to the class of

The fish is a trout.

Keeping this room clean is your responsibility.

Note: In senses 1a through 1e, be functions as a simple copula or linking verb.

2

a

: to have an objective existence : have reality or actuality : live

I think, therefore I am.

b

: to have, maintain, or occupy a place, situation, or position

The book is on the table.

c

: to remain unmolested, undisturbed, or uninterrupted

—used only in the infinitive form

Let him be.

d

: to take place : occur

The concert was last night.

e

: to come or go

has already been and gone

has never been to the circus

f

archaic : belong, befall

… to thine and Albany's issue be this perpetual.

—William Shakespeare

auxiliary verb

1

—used as an auxiliary (see auxiliary entry 2 sense 3) with the past participle of transitive verbs to form the passive voice

The money was found.

The house is being built.

2

—used as the auxiliary of the present participle in progressive tenses expressing continuous action

He is reading.

I have been 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 to + infinitive to express futurity, arrangement in advance, or obligation

I am to interview him today.

She was to become famous.

5

or less commonly bes

ˈbēz 

or be's

—used in the uninflected form be or sometimes the form bes or be's in African American English and to varying degrees in some other varieties of English to indicate that an action or state is habitual or frequent

I be singing in the shower.

… they be bothering you while you try and do your work. …

—unidentified African American English speaker, quoted in The Corpus of Regional African American Language

It bes that way.

We learned to slide out of one language and into another without being conscious of the effort. At school, in a given situation, we might respond with "That's not unusual." But in the street, meeting the same situation, we easily said "It be's like that sometimes."

—Maya Angelou

Note: In linguistics, this use is referred to as aspectual be, habitual be, or invariant be. It usually occurs in the uninflected form be, as in the first two examples above; however, in African American English in particular, it sometimes takes the form bes or be's.

compare BEEN

BEEN

2 of 2

noun

ˈbin  ˈben  ˈbēn 

linguistics

: the verb form been used with spoken emphasis in African American English to indicate that something (such as an event or state) happened or existed in the remote past or that it began in the remote past and is still ongoing : stressed bin

While the use of BEEN to mark the remoteness of an action like told (as in She BEEN told me that) stands out as distinct from Mainstream Standard English (MSE), the use of this feature to mark the extended duration of a state like married (as in She BEEN married) is camouflaged by its resemblance to more mainstream constructions like She('s) been married, where been is unstressed and lacks the high-pitch … characteristic of remote past BEEN …

—Tracey L. Weldon

Note: The feature of African American English called BEEN frequently precedes perfect (see perfect entry 1 sense 5) verb forms, as well as progressive (see progressive entry 1 sense 7) verb forms ending in -ing. It can also precede the African American English feature perfective done, additional predicates (such as nouns, adjectives, and prepositional phrases), and, in certain contexts, adverbial phrases.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

2019, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

been

past participle of be