1. (v. i.) To exist actually, or in the world of fact; to have existence.
2. (v. i.) To exist in a certain manner or relation, -- whether as a reality or as a product of thought; to exist as the subject of a certain predicate, that is, as having a certain attribute, or as belonging to a certain sort, or as identical with what is specified, -- a word or words for the predicate being annexed; as, to be happy; to be here; to be large, or strong; to be an animal; to be a hero; to be a nonentity; three and two are five; annihilation is the cessation of existence; that is the man.
3. (v. i.) To take place; to happen; as, the meeting was on Thursday.
4. (v. i.) To signify; to represent or symbolize; to answer to.
Thesaurus Entries
Be, abide, abide in, be, be alive, be animate, be coextensive with, be comprised in, be constituted by, be contained in, be extant, be found, be in existence, be located, be met with, be present, be present in, be situated, be the case, be there, bide, breathe, carry on, consist in, continue, continue to be, defeat time, defy time, draw breath, dwell, dwell in, endure, exist in, extend, fetch breath, get along, get by, go on, happen, happen to be, have being, have life, have place, hold, hold on, hold out, indwell, inhabit, inhere, inhere in, keep, keep on, last, last long, last out, lie, lie in, live, live and breathe, live on, live through, maintain, move, obtain, occur, perdure, perennate, persist, prevail, remain, repose in, reside, reside in, respire, rest in, run, run on, stand, stay, stay on, subsist, subsist in, survive, sustain, tarry, tide over, walk the earth, wear, wear well
