were

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Pronunciation

• (British) enPR: wûr, IPA: /wɜː(ɹ)/
• (British, regional) enPR: wâr, IPA: /wɛə(ɹ)/
• (America) enPR: wûr, IPA: /wɝ/
• (British) enPR: wər, IPA: /wə(ɹ)/
• (America) enPR: wər, IPA: /wɚ/

Verb

1. second-person singular simple past indicative of be#English|be

   John, you were the only person to see him.

2. first/second/third-person plural simple past indicative of be#English|be

   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.

3. first/second/third-person singular/plural simple present/past subjunctive of be#English|be

   I wish that it were Sunday.

   I wish that I were with you.

   • with “if” omitted, put first in an “if” clause:

   • Were it simply that she wore a hat, I would not be upset at all. (= If it were simply...)

   • Were father a king, we would have war. (= If father were a king,...)

4. (Northern England) was.

Synonyms

• (second-person singular past indicative, archaic) wast (used with “thou”)
• (second-person singular imperfect subjunctive, archaic) wert (used with “thou”)

Noun

were (plural weres)

1. (obsolete) A man, a husband
2. (obsolete) A fine for slaying a man; weregild.

   • Every man was valued at a certain sum, which was called his were.

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

Related terms

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