been
/ˈbɪn/
been verb: remote past form of be. Also the past participle of be.
Verb (1)
been
- remote past form of be.
- He been had that job.
- We been knew they was doing this.
Verb (2)
been
Also used as
been is also the past participle of be.
been is also the plural simple present of be.
been is also the plural of bee.
Examples of been in a sentence
- Like you said[,] we been knew we was going to have to kill Frost, so let's do it and Light too.” Star said.2013, DayQuan Miller, Back Blocks, StealthMode Entertainment, page 147
- Yur a boald 'un to tell the missus theer to hur feeace as how ya wur 'tossicatit whan ya owt to been duing yur larful business.1888, Mary Augusta Ward, “Book I”, in Robert Elsmere, London: Macmillan and Company, page 20:
- […]But one time it use' to been so cold right first of the winter.1966, DARE Tape SC10, quotee, “be v”, in Frederic G. Cassidy, Joan Houston Hall, editors, Dictionary of American Regional English, volume...
Synonyms of been
Origin of been
From Middle English been (past participle), from Old English (ġe)bēon. By surface analysis, be + -en.
Either from Middle English been (“to be”, infinitive) (from Old English bēon, equivalent to be + -en (infinitive ending)), or from a dialectal use of the preceding past tense form as an infinitive form (compare dialectal use of (I)'s, (I) is in the first person, (he) am in the third person, etc).
From Middle English been (plural indicative form); equivalent to be + -en (plural present ending).
Phrases with been
- been on
- has been
- been born
- been late
- been like
- been onto
- been with
- been a man
- been a one
- been along
- been awake
- been bored
105 more phrasesFewer phrases
- been on to
- been right
- been there
- been wrong
- been in for
- been rid of
- been silent
- been a thing
- been able to
- been oneself
- been out for
- been used to
- there'd been
- there's been
- we been knew
- been darkmans
- been good for
- there've been
- been aces with
- been ages with
- been all about
- been done with
- been down with
- been taken ill
- I've been shot
- it's been real
- there had been
- there has been
- had been around
- has been around
- I've been raped
- there have been
- been supposed to
- have been around
- I've been robbed
- been no match for
- been on the scout
- been to the rodeo
- it's been a slice
- never been kissed
- there having been
- been at the plague
- having been around
- it's been 84 years
- seen and been seen
- been on the lookout
- where have you been
- been cruel to be kind
- been left at the post
- been there, done that
- have been in the wars
- must've been the wind
- been on one's bullshit
- been on someone's dick
- been on someone's nuts
- been someone's to lose
- if it had not been for
- been on one's beanwater
- been on one's merry way
- must have been the wind
- been the worse for drink
- there's been an accident
- had been around the block
- has been around the block
- stood up and been counted
- been left holding the baby
- been one's own worst enemy
- have been around the block
- if ever there has been one
- been lost to the four winds
- been in each other's pockets
- having been around the block
- have been to an Irish wedding
- been gathered to one's fathers
- you don't know where it's been
- been part of life's rich pageant
- been part of life's rich pattern
- been part of life's rich tapestry
- has been gathered to one's fathers
- what has been seen cannot be unseen
- we've always been at war with Eurasia
- been there, done that, got the T-shirt
- we've always been at war with Eastasia
- we have always been at war with Eurasia
- we've always been at war with East Asia
- we have always been at war with Eastasia
- been there, done that, bought the T-shirt
- that which has been seen cannot be unseen
- we have always been at war with East Asia
- one's belly thinks one's throat has been cut
- nothing is said that has not been said before
- one's stomach thinks one's throat has been cut
- lock the stable door after the horse has been stolen
- close the stable door after the horse has been stolen
- locks the stable door after the horse has been stolen
- closed the stable door after the horse had been stolen
- closes the stable door after the horse has been stolen
- locked the stable door after the horse had been stolen
- closing the stable door after the horse has been stolen
- locking the stable door after the horse has been stolen
- look as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards
- looks as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards
- looked as if one had been dragged through a hedge backwards
- looking as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards
- beer before liquor, never been sicker; liquor before beer, you're in the clear
Words that rhyme with been
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- chin
- Flynn
- bin
- Quinn
- sin
- tin
- Bryn
- corinne
- inn
- din
- Finn
- grin
- kin
- lin
- linn
- unpin
- Benin
- min
- shin
- violin
- wherein
- within
- akin
- begin
- brin
- chin-chin
- hin
- lyn
- mandolin
- whin
- zoom in
- agin
- agrin
- Arabian jasmine
- blin
- djinn
- Douyin
- edge in
- gimme some skin
- glyn
- herein
- jinn
- Karin
- kissing kin
- lecithin
- Nguyen
- nin
Questions about been
- What does been mean?
- Been means remote past form of be.
- How do you use been in a sentence?
- Like you said[,] we been knew we was going to have to kill Frost, so let's do it and Light too.” Star said.
- What part of speech is been?
- Been is a verb.
- How do you pronounce been?
- Been is pronounced /ˈbɪn/.
Words near been in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: been (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-been.ogg, En-uk-been.ogg.
Cite this entry: “been.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/been. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.