were

[wur, wer, wair] / wɜr, wər, wɛər /

VERB

exist

Synonyms

STRONG

abide act breathe continue do endure hold inhabit last live move obtain persist prevail remain rest stand stay subsist survive

WEAK

be alive go on have being have place

Antonyms

STRONG

cease depart die discontinue forsake give up go halt idle leave lose pass quit refuse reject stop

VERB

happen

Synonyms

STRONG

befall occur transpire

WEAK

come about come to pass take place

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

At the time, most of its researchers and engineers were based in China.

From The Wall Street Journal

“If I were to single out one area, I would probably focus on air defense, because we can all see what is currently happening with the enemy’s strikes deep inside our country,” said Lt.

From The Wall Street Journal

As people scrambled to get to New Year's Eve celebrations, some travellers said they spent more than six hours stuck onboard trains overnight as services were hit by more delays.

From BBC

But it said it could not provide evidence for its claim as the drones were "all shot down".

From Barron's

Here is what the detailed analysis revealed for 2025, during which 120 monthly temperature records were broken in more than 70 countries.

From Barron's