DictionaryAI

been

BIN/bɪn/BEEN/biːn/

5 meanings of been

Practice

  1. 1
    after haveverb
    Past participle of be.

    There have been several complaints about the noise since the new tenants moved in.

    The bridge had been closed for repairs when the storm hit.

    Note

    Casual speech can drop the have (Postman been?), and some dialects, African American Vernacular English among them, omit it entirely: they been here since yesterday.

  2. 2
    without haveverbdialectalUS
    In Southern US and African American Vernacular English, a form of be that places an action or state in the remote past.

    Don't act surprised; everybody been knew he planned to move to Atlanta.

    My grandmother been paid off that house, so the bank can't touch it.

    Note

    A time marker, not a participle: before a past-tense verb, -ing form, adjective or noun (he been had that job, we been knew), it sets the start of the action or state far back. It is easily misread as the participle with its have dropped, but we been knew does not mean we have been knowing. It typically carries strong stress; linguists often write it BIN. Standard English needs long ago or for a long time instead.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • Remote-past BIN is usually stressed, but not invariably; participial been can also receive stress. krisyu.org
  3. 3
    after toverbdialectal
    In some dialects, chiefly Southern US and African American Vernacular speech, a form used in place of the infinitive be, typically after used to or going to.

    That old road used to been nothing but dirt and gravel.

    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, Robert Elsmere

    Similarbe

    Note

    An infinitive that looks like a participle, with two possible histories: the Middle English infinitive been surviving in speech, or a dialect habit of using the past form where be belongs. It is rare, and in print it lives in dialogue spelled to catch a voice, and not only American voices: a Lake District speaker in Mary Augusta Ward's Robert Elsmere (1888) says yur owt ta been duing yur larful business.

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • The infinitival been may continue the Middle English infinitive or result from extending the past participle. en.wiktionary.org
    • Mary Augusta Ward wrote Robert Elsmere, first published in 1888. en.wikipedia.org
    • The novel provides a Lake District example of dialect dialogue. en.wikipedia.org
    • John says “yur owt ta been duing yur larful business”; the quotation changes yur to ya and ta to to. gutenberg.org

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    verbobsolete
    Plural simple present of be. Obsolete; modern English uses are.
    My love is fair, my love is gay, / As fresh as been the flowers in May;
    1584, George Peele, The Arraignment of Paris
    O Friar, those are faults that are not seen, / Ours open, and of worse example been.
    1641, Ben Jonson, The Sad Shepherd
    Note

    Where we now say are, earlier English could say been: as fresh as been the flowers in May means as fresh as the flowers are. It is be with the Middle English plural ending -en, and it still turns up in verse around 1600: Peele uses it in 1584, the play Pericles in 1609, and Ben Jonson still rhymes it with seen in The Sad Shepherd (1641).

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 8 facts

    • Been formerly meant are and derives from the Middle English plural indicative, with the plural present ending -en. en.wiktionary.org
    • The illustrative line contains been meaning are. en.wiktionary.org
    • The form consists of be and the Middle English plural ending -en. hcmc.uvic.ca
    • George Peele used the form in a work first published in 1584. emed.folger.edu
    • Pericles was first published in 1609. Around 1607–1608 is its estimated composition date. en.wikisource.org
    • Pericles contains the plural present been. en.wikisource.org
    • Ben Jonson's The Sad Shepherd was first printed in 1641. en.wikipedia.org
    • The Sad Shepherd rhymes seen with been. en.wikisource.org
  2. 5
    noundialectalUK
    Plural of bee. Dialectal, in parts of the UK; the standard plural is bees.

been is a form of be

be, verb: Used to link the subject to a description of it, such as a quality, color, size, age, length, or price (She is tall; He is ten; The film is three hours; The tickets are $12). Full entry

Forms
beis he/she/itbeing -ing formwas past tensebeen past participle
Spelling
be → been: irregular (no -ed)

Use it in a sentence

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Origins

Meanings 1–2

Old English (ġe)bēon gave Middle English been, the past participle of be. Analyzed by its parts, it is be plus -en.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

Meaning 3

Either from Middle English been ("to be", the infinitive), from Old English bēon, equivalent to be + the infinitive ending -en; or from a dialect use of the past form been as an infinitive, much like dialect forms such as "I is" or "he am".

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

  • One proposed origin is Middle English been, the infinitive meaning 'to be', from Old English bēon. en.wiktionary.org
  • The form is equivalent to be plus the infinitive ending -en. en.wiktionary.org
  • The alternative proposed origin is extension of the past participle been to infinitive use. en.wiktionary.org
  • The source compares this extension with dialectal 'I is' and 'he am'. en.wiktionary.org
Meaning 4

In Middle English, been served as a plural indicative of be. It is made of be and -en, which was then the ending for present plurals.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts