Was Definition & Meaning | Britannica Dictionary

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href="/dictionary/eb/css/entries/definition.0025.css" type="text/css" rel="Stylesheet" charset="utf-8"> <h1 id="ld_entries_v2_mainh" class="georgia_font box_sizing ld_xs_hidden">was</h1> <div id="ld_entries_v2_others_block" class="ld_xs_hidden box_sizing"> <div class="o_count"> 5 ENTRIES FOUND: </div> <ul class="o_list verdana_font"> <li>  <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/dictionary/was?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="selected">was</a></li> <li> <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/dictionary/%27twas?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="">'twas</a></li> <li> <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/dictionary/as?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="">as<span> (conjunction)</span></a></li> <li> <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/dictionary/be?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="">be<span> (verb)</span></a></li> <li> <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/dictionary/time?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="">time<span> (noun)</span></a></li> </ul> </div> <div id="ld_entries_v2_all">  <div class="entry entry_v2 boxy">   <div class="hw_d hw_0 boxy m_hidden"> <span class="hw_txt gfont"> <sup class="homograph"></sup> was </span>    </div>    <div class="hw_m hw_0 boxy d_hidden"> <div class="hw_line"> <span class="hw_txt"> <sup class="homograph"></sup> was </span>   </div>  </div>   <div class="dline m_hidden"><span class="vfont">Britannica Dictionary definition of WAS</span> </div> <div class="cxs"> <span class="cl">past tense of</span> <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/dictionary/be?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="cx_link">be</a> </div>          </div> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> var saveMe = false; var bestMatch = {"dict_type":"az","hw_text_no_syllables":"was","eidNH":"was","eid":"was","uid":"was_az","isv2":false,"hw_homograph":null,"fl":null,"search_type":"hw","search_value":"was"}; require(['search'], function(search) { search.init(null, saveMe, bestMatch); }); </script> </div> <div id="wrap_cr_br" class="box_sizing ld_xs_hidden noprint"> <div class="abl abl-m0-t300-d300 ld_xs_hidden"> <div class="ad_slot_right_top" id="ad_slot_right_top"></div> </div> <div id="wrap_rbr_c" class="box_sizing"> <link href="/dictionary/eb/css/qa/siderail.0001.css" type="text/css" rel="Stylesheet" charset="utf-8"> <div id="qa_siderail"> <div class="area_header verdana_font margin_bottom_10"> ASK THE EDITOR </div> <table class="cont"> <tbody> <tr> <td class="qa_content_r"> <div class="question"><a class="arial_font" href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/dictionary/eb/qa/The-Plurals-of-Check-In-Passerby-and-Spoonful-compound-nouns?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" title="Question text">What are the plural forms of <em class="mw_spm_it">check-in</em>, <em class="mw_spm_it">passerby</em>, and <em class="mw_spm_it">spoonful</em>?</a> </div> <div class="find_answer"><a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/dictionary/eb/qa/The-Plurals-of-Check-In-Passerby-and-Spoonful-compound-nouns?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="helvetica_font">See the answer 禄</a> </div></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> <link href="/dictionary/eb/css/quizzes/siderail.0001.css" type="text/css" rel="Stylesheet" charset="utf-8"> <div id="quizzes_r"> <div class="area_header verdana_font margin_bottom_10"> QUIZZES </div> <div class="main_content"> <div class="feature_quiz"> <div class="quiz_icon"><a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/dictionary/eb/quiz/vocabulary-start?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB"><img src="/dictionary/eb/images/quizzes/vocabulary-quiz-70x55.gif" alt="Vocabulary Quiz Icon"></a> </div> <div class="quiz_content"> <div class="title georgia_font"><a 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src="https://merriam-webster.com/assets/ld/word_of_the_day/images/6278/thumb.jpg" alt="Surveillance Illustration"> </a></td> <td class="qa_content_r"> <div class="word georgia_font"><a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/dictionary/eb/word-of-the-day?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" title="surveillance"> surveillance </a> </div> <div class="blurb"><a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/dictionary/eb/word-of-the-day?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" title="{bc} the act of carefully watching someone or something especially in order to prevent or detect a crime"><strong class="mw_spm_bc">:</strong> the act of carefully watching someone or something especially in order to prevent or detect a crime</a> </div> <div class="learn_more"><a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/dictionary/eb/word-of-the-day?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="helvetica_font">Learn More 禄</a> </div></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> <script 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