been

Definition of beennext
past participle of be
1
2
3
as in ranked
to take or have a certain position within a group arranged in vertical classes our school's football team is first in its division

Synonyms & Similar Words

4

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of been Three races in, there’ve been unforeseen winners, unpredicted changes to the schedule and the unanticipated reality of regulation changes dawning. Amanda Davies, CNN Money, 24 Apr. 2026 The fans who’ve been down with me since the ’99 and 2000s, the ones who’ve been riding with me all the way to now. Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 27 Mar. 2026 Phillips told Us Weekly there’d been the possibility of getting a kidney from her brother, Aron, but doctors ultimately turned him down. Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 28 Feb. 2026 And there’ve been many times throughout filming this where Paul and I were just sort of stranded, the two of us, and that offers a huge opportunity to bond. Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 14 Feb. 2026 Historically, the Air Jordan 15 been one of the least popular of Jordan’s signature shoes, but there is a segment of people who appreciate its oddball design, including Billie Eilish, who collaborated on it in 2021 and calls it her favorite Air Jordan. Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 13 Feb. 2026 How historic have the 2026 winter storms been? Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 7 Feb. 2026 Some who’d been leaders under previous coaches did not work for Payton, like guard Dalton Risner and safety Justin Simmons. Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 24 Jan. 2026 In Australia, the debate has been more fraught than almost anywhere else, and so the government’s announcement caught out even those who’ve been at the negotiating table. Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 7 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for been
Verb
  • Vasquez lived at a different address in Norwood.
    Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 13 May 2026
  • Chachapoyas, Peru In the mountains of northern Peru sits Chachapoyas, a city named in honor of the civilization that lived here from 800 BCE to 1470.
    Catherine Garcia, TheWeek, 13 May 2026
Verb
  • Levi Jones, a 33-year-old business owner, pulled up to Sacred Eye Tattoos in Hollywood last week and sat for eight hours getting a photorealistic black-and-white portrait of Mangione on his leg.
    Amanda Rosa, Orlando Sentinel, 24 Dec. 2024
  • The birthday boy and his big sister Sterling Skye, 3, each sat between one of their parents’ laps.
    Angel Saunders, People.com, 24 Dec. 2024
Verb
  • Multiple studies in 2024–26 have ranked San Jose as the least affordable housing market in the United States, based on comparisons of home prices to local incomes.
    James Ward, USA Today, 15 May 2026
  • Seahawks, Week 7 Based on the all-encompassing DVOA metrics, Seattle finished last season ranked first in overall, pass and run defense.
    Jesse Newell, New York Times, 15 May 2026
Verb
  • Except that is not what happened.
    Bobby Burack OutKick, FOXNews.com, 15 May 2026
  • Police said the fatal confrontation happened next to a weed truck parked across from a gas station.
    Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 15 May 2026
Verb
  • The field had only formally existed for something like twenty years.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 May 2026
  • The question of whether these venatrices, or female beast hunters, truly existed had long been a mystery.
    Taylor Mitchell Brown, Scientific American, 19 May 2026
Verb
  • Journalists stood three deep in the aisles for the secretary of state.
    Rob Crilly, The Washington Examiner, 19 May 2026
  • Two inmates punched and kicked the victim for about 30 seconds in his cell, while a third inmate stood guard.
    Tim Fang, CBS News, 19 May 2026
Verb
  • Additional images showed an unknown number of snakes curled on top of one another inside a large crate that was placed in the back of an officer’s vehicle.
    Angel Saunders, PEOPLE, 16 May 2026
  • However, StyleCaster may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
    Katie Decker-Jacoby, StyleCaster, 15 May 2026
Verb
  • There’s probably a smart, chilling film to be made about the terrors of smothering and relentless adoration — one imagines what Rod Serling would have done with something like this — but this isn’t really that film.
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 15 May 2026
  • All this customization can be done through the on-bike display or Velotric’s phone app.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 15 May 2026

Cite this Entry

“Been.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/been. Accessed 21 May. 2026.

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