was

verb

Definition of wasnext
past tense of be
1
as in lived
to have life stories that begin with the familiar line "once upon a time there was a beautiful maiden"

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stood
to occupy a place or location we'll be there waiting for you

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in ranked
to take or have a certain position within a group arranged in vertical classes our school's football team is first in its division

Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in happened
to take place the party is next Saturday

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of was Sanft asked jurors if there was any evidence that Davis had ever called the shots before or after the shooting. — Jonathan Landrum Jr, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026 On top of the moving-camera-foamy-dark-mouth challenge, there was the plaque challenge. — Jenny Bailly, Allure, 1 Sep. 2026 Lamas claimed that Jackie believed that there was a link between her husband’s death and that of Marilyn Monroe, who died in 1962. — Lara Walsh, InStyle, 31 Aug. 2026 By comparing these to oxygen-proton collisions from the same run as a control, the researchers concluded that there was jet quenching or parton energy loss in these collisions. — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 31 Aug. 2026 There was a time when some wondered about the fate of Marco Polo, too. — Rachel Corbett, Curbed, 31 Aug. 2026 And there was never a set schedule for that one hour he would be let out and allowed to use the phone. — Richard A. Webster, ProPublica, 31 Aug. 2026 There was no indication that Kharg Island had actually been attacked, and a senior Iranian oil official ridiculed the claim. — Jane Arraf, NPR, 31 Aug. 2026 There was a pause, as a room full of songwriters — the event was specifically for the Recording Academy’s Songwriters & Composers Wing — erupted into laughter. — Chris Willman, Variety, 25 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for was
  1. lived
  2. stood
  3. ranked
  4. happened
  5. existed
  6. sat
  7. placed
  8. came
Verb
  • If more bucks lived to be 7 ½ years old like the one Mitch tagged in 1998, the county would certainly produce more record-book bucks.
    — Richard P. Smith, Outdoor Life, 27 Aug. 2026
  • At times, his psychological explanations may seem almost too orderly for a woman who lived so exuberantly in disorder.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of lived
Verb
  • Some of the model buildings stood 5 feet tall, and many were designed to break away to mimic the effects of a blast.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Uptown Charlotte’s public safety, and perception versus reality, stood at the forefront of Charlotte Center City Partners board meeting Thursday morning.
    — Desiree Mathurin, Charlotte Observer, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of stood
Verb
  • There are only two games this season that match the two best teams, with both being ranked in the top 10, from the same county playing each other voluntarily this season.
    — Todd Holcomb, AJC.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Missouri ranked 48th in safety, 36th in economic environment and 50th in driving laws, according to the study’s metrics.
    — Joseph Hernandez August 28, Kansas City Star, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of ranked
Verb
  • A lot of things happened over the course of the history of baseball.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 29 Aug. 2026
  • But that’s just what happened, as Arlington seized a statement 38-22 victory.
    — Charles Baggarly August 29, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of happened
Verb
  • The club was live-action social media before social media existed.
    — Derek C. Blasberg, Vanity Fair, 28 Aug. 2026
  • That year, Congress passed the Humphrey-Hawkins Act, which required the Fed chair to report to Congress twice a year – a formal and recurring channel of oversight that hadn’t existed before.
    — Paul Wachtel, The Conversation, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of existed
Verb
  • This fine establishment has sat at the same address in the Williamsburg Bridge's shadow since 1887, and the interiors carry about as many frills as your average public house—dark wood, plaster walls, and so on.
    — Charlie Hobbs, Condé Nast Traveler, 31 Dec. 2025
  • The birthday boy and his big sister Sterling Skye, 3, each sat between one of their parents’ laps.
    — Angel Saunders, People.com, 24 Dec. 2024
Definition of sat
Verb
  • Few have placed bigger bets than Blackstone on the AI revolution, which demands massive funding for large language models and the data centers and energy infrastructure that power them.
    — Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The illusion of molten steel was basically water and mineral oil mixed with a little powdered sugar; creative lighting and heaters placed below the cameras—plus a few CGI sparks in the background—did the rest.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of placed
Verb
  • That came just a few days after news broke that Palantir had secured a $10 billion contract from the US Army over the next decade.
    — Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2025
  • All five of Bednar’s outs came via strikeout on Wednesday.
    — Brendan Kuty, New York Times, 7 Aug. 2025
Definition of came

Browse Nearby Words

wary
was
was friends with
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Was.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/was. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All