were

noun 2

Definitions

noun

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

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

If by that he failed to pay or give security for the were, or fine, at which murder was legally rated; he might be put to death by the relatives of the murdered man.

noun

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

Collocations

ADJ.

able, fine, jealous, left, most, new, old, redundant

The new students were nervous on their first day at school.

VERB + WERE

called, drink, eyes, granted, knew, party, police, sentences

They were called to the principal's office after the incident at school yesterday.

WERE + NOUN

host's, i'd, joy, prank, truth, years

The truth were finally revealed after years of keeping the secret hidden from everyone.

PREP.

in, on, with

They were in the kitchen when the phone rang this morning.

ADV.

actually, such

The problems we faced were actually much worse than we first realized.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

Example Bank

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

Wiktionary

If by that he failed to pay or give security for the were, or fine, at which murder was legally rated; he might be put to death by the relatives of the murdered man.

Wiktionary

Written statutes busied themselves only with the amount of the were, or fine, or (for the first century after the Conquest) with the method of procedure.

Wiktionary

Humans were never meant to live forever.

Tatoeba · #1376

I was wondering if you were going to show up today.

Tatoeba · #1464

In the 1950's, the Finns were cited as having one of the least healthy diets in the world.

Tatoeba · #1534

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, were is marked as slang. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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