English words starting with be

Meanings of Be:

verb

Exist.

Usage examples:

There are no easy answers

prefix

(forming verbs) all over; all round.

Usage examples:

Bespatter

abbreviation

Bachelor of education.

noun

The chemical element of atomic number 4, a hard grey metal.

The chemical element beryllium.

auxiliary verb

Used with a present participle to form continuous tenses.

Usage examples:

They are coming

Meanings of Be a barrel of laughs:

phrase

A source of fun or amusement.

Usage examples:

Life is not exactly a barrel of laughs at the moment

idiom

To be funny or enjoyable

Usage examples:

"he's a bit serious, isn't he?" "yeah, not exactly a barrel of laughs."

Meanings of Be afraid of:

idiom

To be frightened of things in a way that is not reasonable or necessary

Usage examples:

They are weak leaders who seem afraid of their own shadows., for the rest of your life you will hav…

Meanings of Be afraid of:

idiom

To be frightened of things in a way that is not reasonable or necessary

Usage examples:

They are weak leaders who seem afraid of their own shadows., for the rest of your life you will hav…

Meanings of Be after:

phrasal verb

Have the will and intention to carry out some action

phrase

To be looking for someone or something or trying to find or get them or it

Usage examples:

The police are after him., uk i'm after a tie to go with this shirt., i'm sure she's after my husba…

Meanings of Be an item:

phrase

(of a couple) be involved in an established romantic or sexual relationship.

Usage examples:

The couple, who've been an item for 12 years, have their musical roots in long island.

idiom

If two people are an item, they are having a romantic relationship

Usage examples:

I saw darren and emma there. are they an item?

Meanings of Be at large:

idiom

If someone dangerous is at large, that person is free when they should not be

Usage examples:

Twelve prisoners are at large following a series of escapes.

Meanings of Be born:

adjective

Past participle of bear; having come into existence by birth

Usage examples:

He was born in 1950., it was obvious that rachel was a born leader., [ + to infinitive ] stephen wa…

phrase

To come out of a mother's body, and start to exist

Usage examples:

She was born in 1950., we saw a lamb being born., diana was born into an aristocratic family., ann …

Meanings of Be cut out for:

phrase

Have exactly the right qualities for a particular role or job.

Usage examples:

Not everyone is cut out for dealing with customers

idiom

To not be the right type of person for something

Usage examples:

I'm not cut out for an office job.

Meanings of Be cut up:

idiom

To be upset

Usage examples:

Philip was very cut up about his grandmother's death.

Meanings of Be down with:

noun

The amount or weight of something carried by a vehicle, a structure such as a bridge, or a person or animal

Usage examples:

The truck had a load of bricks., the maximum load for this elevator is eight persons., the normal t…

suffix

Used with other nouns to refer to a vehicle, large container, etc. that is completely full

Usage examples:

Truckload/planeload/busload planeloads of aid sent to the disaster region remain undistributed., th…

phrase

To have too much to carry, or too much work to do

Usage examples:

I was loaded down with shopping., the children were loaded down with huge backpacks., we were loade…

Meanings of Be in:

phrase

To be important or famous in a particular place or type of work

Usage examples:

They're big in japan, but no one's heard of them here., he's been big in the us for a while., alrea…

phrasal verb

To be unable to leave because of too much snow

Usage examples:

Many people were snowed in by tuesday's storm.

Meanings of Be in a mood:

idiom

To not be friendly to other people because you are feeling angry

Usage examples:

Ignore him - he's in a mood.

Meanings of Be in on:

idiom

To be or become involved in something from the beginning

Usage examples:

He was sure that he was getting in on the ground floor with the next big thing., can someone tell m…

Meanings of Be in seventh heaven:

idiom

To be extremely happy

Usage examples:

Since they got married, they've been in seventh heaven.

Meanings of Be like chalk and cheese:

phrase

Fundamentally different or incompatible.

Usage examples:

We'll never get on—we're like chalk and cheese

idiom

If two people are like chalk and cheese, they are completely different from each other

Usage examples:

My brother and i are like chalk and cheese.

Meanings of Be not on:

idiom

Something that is not on is unacceptable and should not happen

Usage examples:

You can't be expected to work for nothing - it's not on.

Meanings of Be off:

phrase

Go away; leave.

Usage examples:

He was anxious to be off

Meanings of Be on:

phrasal verb

Appear in a show, on t.v. or radio

idiom

Used when saying who is responsible for something

Usage examples:

If he doesn't like it, then it's on him to change it., "it's too much." "that's on you. i offered t…

Meanings of Be on about:

phrase

Talk about tediously and at length.

Usage examples:

She's always on about doing one's duty

idiom

If you ask someone what they are on about, you are asking that person, often in a slightly annoyed way, what they mean

Usage examples:

I dunno what you're on about.

Meanings of Be on the beat:

phrase

A police officer who is on the beat or walking the beat is on duty, walking around rather than driving in a police car

Usage examples:

Most people would like to see more bobbies on the beat in their area., having more officers on the …

Meanings of Be onto:

preposition

Into a position on

Usage examples:

Gennaro tossed his newspaper onto the table., everybody is onto you – why don’t you admit you lied?

Meanings of Be out of:

idiom

To be able/unable to have or do what you want

Usage examples:

"do you have any tuna sandwiches?" "you're in luck - there's one left."

phrase

To not have enough minutes, etc. available

Usage examples:

I'd like to continue this discussion but we're all out of time., i'm afraid we're out of time and i…

Meanings of Be out to:

idiom

To be crazy

Usage examples:

So do i take this guy seriously or is he out to lunch?

Meanings of Be over the moon:

To be very pleased

Usage examples:

She was over the moon about/with her new bike.

phrase

Extremely happy; delighted.

Usage examples:

They're going on holiday on wednesday so they're all over the moon