Word.ws English Dictionary

there be

there be verb: of the specified thing: to exist, physically or abstractly.

Verb

there be (highly irregular; see conjugation table)

  1. Of the specified thing: to exist, physically or abstractly.
    • Let there be light.
    • There are two apples on the table. [=Two apples are on the table.]
    Synonyms:
    there exist

there be meaning in Tagalog, Arabic, Malay and Indonesian

there be in Tagalog

to exist
may, mayroon

there be in Arabic

to exist
وُجِدَ wujida

there be in Malay

to exist
ada

there be in Indonesian

to exist
ada
More languagesFewer languages
there be in Thai
มี mii
there be in Vietnamese
có

Examples of there be in a sentence

  • If there be any thing ILL in the Univerſe from Deſign, then that which diſpoſes all things, is no one good deſigning Principle.1749, Anthony Ashley Cooper Shaftesbury, Characteristicks of Men, Manners, Opinions, Times, J. Baskerville, page 8
  • Unless there be some lesion of the stomach, there is no blood, either microscopic or occult.1907, Southern Society for Clinical Investigation, The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, J.B. Lippincott, Co., page 627
  • Nor should there be any constraint upon the opinions of any of the members of the Diet or upon their right of publishing them, even though such would meet with opposition from without.1988, John S. Doskey, William Maclure, The European Journals of William Maclure, →ISBN, page 204:

Synonyms of there be

Forms of there be

third-person singular presentthere is
third-person singular presentthere's
third-person singular pastthere was
plural presentthere are
plural presentthere're
plural pastthere were
present imperative multiword-constructionlet there be
present error-unrecognized-formthere being
past error-unrecognized-form multiword-constructionthere having been
plural present (nonstandard)there's

Origin of there be

The expletive there, from Old English þær, to fill the first position in English's historic V2 word order.

Questions about there be

What does there be mean?
There be means of the specified thing: to exist, physically or abstractly.
What is there be in Tagalog?
There be in Tagalog is may, mayroon. See There be meaning in Tagalog.
How do you use there be in a sentence?
If there be any thing ILL in the Univerſe from Deſign, then that which diſpoſes all things, is no one good deſigning Principle.
What part of speech is there be?
There be is a verb.
What is the past tense of there be?
The past tense of there be is -.

Words near there be in the dictionary

  1. there are plenty of pebbles on the beach
  2. there are two ends to every stick
  3. there are two sides to every question
  4. there are two sides to every story
  5. there away
  6. there be
  7. there being
  8. there but for the grace of God go I
  9. there exist
  10. there exists
  11. there for all to see

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: there be (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: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-there be.wav.

Cite this entry: “there be.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/there_be. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.