being

• beeing (archaic)

Originated 1250–1300 from Middle English being; see be + -ing.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈbiːɪŋ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈbiɪŋ/, /ˈbiŋ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːɪŋ, -ɪŋ
• Hyphenation: be‧ing

being

1. present participle of be

being (countable and uncountable, plural beings)

1. A living creature.
2. The state or fact of existence, consciousness, or life, or something in such a state.
   • Shakespeare

     Claudius, thou / Wast follower of his fortunes in his being.

3. (philosophy) That which has actuality (materially or in concept).
4. (philosophy) One's basic nature, or the qualities thereof; essence or personality.
5. (obsolete) An abode; a cottage.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Wright to this entry?)

   • Steele

     It was a relief to dismiss them [Sir Roger's servants] into little beings within my manor.

• (a living creature): See also Thesaurus:creature
• (the state or fact of existence): See also Thesaurus:existence

being

1. (obsolete) Given that; since.
   • 1621, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy, Oxford: Printed by Iohn Lichfield and Iames Short, for Henry Cripps, OCLC 216894069; The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd corrected and augmented edition, Oxford: Printed by John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, 1624, OCLC 54573970:

     , New York Review Books 2001, p.280:

     ’Tis a hard matter therefore to confine them, being they are so various and many […].

• being that

• “being” in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, →ISBN.
• “being” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• "being" in the Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version), K Dictionaries limited, 2000-2006.
• "being" in WordNet 2.0, Princeton University, 2003.

• begin, binge