Standard Lemma guide

were

noun · verb · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /wə(ɹ)/ weak form
  • wər weak form
  • /wɜː/ strong form
  • wûr strong form
  • London: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • /wɛː/ Humberside, fair–fur merger, strong form
  • wâr Humberside, fair–fur merger, strong form
  • /wɜː(ɹ)/ Lancashire, fair–fur merger, strong form
  • wûr Lancashire, fair–fur merger, strong form
  • /weː/ Liverpool, fair–fur merger, strong form
  • wâr Liverpool, fair–fur merger, strong form
  • /wɔː/ Northumbria, strong form
  • /wɛː/ Teesside, fair–fur merger, strong form
  • wâr Teesside, fair–fur merger, strong form
  • /wɛr/ Scotland, strong form
  • wûr Scotland, strong form
  • /wɚ/ weak form
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • /wɝ/ strong form
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • /wøː/ strong form
  • /wɑːɹ/ strong form
  • wär strong form
  • homophone: we're
  • rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)
  • homophone: whirr (wine–whine merger, fern–fir–fur merger)
  • homophone: ware (fair–fur merger)
  • homophone: where (fair–fur merger, wine–whine merger)
  • CMU ARPABET: W ER1 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

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

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: alt-of, alternative

Examples

  • 1799-1805, Sharon Turner, History of the Anglo-Saxons Every man was valued at a certain sum, which was called his were.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

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

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: slang

Topics: lifestyle

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

second-person singular simple past indicative of be

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, indicative, past, second-person, singular

Examples

  • John, you were the only person to see him.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

plural simple past indicative of be

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, indicative, past, plural

Examples

  • 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.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

simple subjunctive of be

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • I wish that it were Sunday.
  • I wish that I were with you.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

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

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Ireland, Multicultural-London-English, Northern-England, first-person, form-of, indicative, past, singular, third-person

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English were, wer, see wer.

Back-formation from werewolf and other terms in were-, from the same source as English wer, were (“man”) (above).

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h2wes-der. Proto-Germanic *wēzīn Proto-West Germanic *wāʀīn Old English wǣre 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.