"be to" meaning in All languages combined

See be to on Wiktionary

Verb [English]

Head templates: {{head|en|verb}} be to
  1. Used to express an official plan, arrangement, or scheduled event. Translations (used to express an official plan, arrangement, or scheduled event): mieć [imperfective] (Polish)
    Sense id: en-be_to-en-verb-RbdHMcV3 Disambiguation of 'used to express an official plan, arrangement, or scheduled event': 47 3 2 14 15 16 2
  2. Used in the past tense to indicate that something was supposed to happen or was destined to happen.
    Sense id: en-be_to-en-verb-JR4Kb9Dg Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Polish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 4 25 24 15 12 8 13 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 4 29 27 12 13 7 8 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 2 22 20 19 18 9 10 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 8 14 20 18 21 10 10
  3. Used after if to introduce a condition that must be met in order for something to happen or succeed.
    Sense id: en-be_to-en-verb-NjxrpYZv Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Polish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 4 25 24 15 12 8 13 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 5 16 33 14 14 8 9 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 4 29 27 12 13 7 8 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 2 22 20 19 18 9 10 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 8 14 20 18 21 10 10
  4. Used to give commands, instructions, or to state rules. In negative form, it expresses prohibition.
    Sense id: en-be_to-en-verb-MxhwA2im Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Polish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 4 25 24 15 12 8 13 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 4 29 27 12 13 7 8 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 2 22 20 19 18 9 10 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 8 14 20 18 21 10 10
  5. Used to ask or state what someone should do.
    Sense id: en-be_to-en-verb-1IobyJX0 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Polish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 4 25 24 15 12 8 13 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 4 29 27 12 13 7 8 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 2 22 20 19 18 9 10 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 8 14 20 18 21 10 10
  6. Used to ask how something is possible or achievable
    Sense id: en-be_to-en-verb-BvG7wUMi
  7. Used after if or in inversion to describe hypothetical or imagined scenarios.
    Sense id: en-be_to-en-verb-voaLo3JT Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 4 25 24 15 12 8 13
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      "expansion": "be to",
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              8,
              13
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          ],
          "text": "The CEO is to announce the new company strategy tomorrow.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used to express an official plan, arrangement, or scheduled event."
      ],
      "id": "en-be_to-en-verb-RbdHMcV3",
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "47 3 2 14 15 16 2",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "lang_code": "pl",
          "sense": "used to express an official plan, arrangement, or scheduled event",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "word": "mieć"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "4 25 24 15 12 8 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
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        {
          "_dis": "4 29 27 12 13 7 8",
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          "source": "w+disamb"
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          "_dis": "8 14 20 18 21 10 10",
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      "examples": [
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              15,
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          ],
          "text": "Strange things were to happen all over the country.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used in the past tense to indicate that something was supposed to happen or was destined to happen."
      ],
      "id": "en-be_to-en-verb-JR4Kb9Dg"
    },
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          "_dis": "5 16 33 14 14 8 9",
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          "_dis": "4 29 27 12 13 7 8",
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          "_dis": "2 22 20 19 18 9 10",
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          "source": "w+disamb"
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          "_dis": "8 14 20 18 21 10 10",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
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          "source": "w+disamb"
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      ],
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              6,
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          ],
          "text": "If we are to make it, we'd better get a taxi.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used after if to introduce a condition that must be met in order for something to happen or succeed."
      ],
      "id": "en-be_to-en-verb-NjxrpYZv"
    },
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      "categories": [
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          "_dis": "4 25 24 15 12 8 13",
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          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              4,
              10
            ]
          ],
          "text": "You are to hand in your essay by Friday.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used to give commands, instructions, or to state rules. In negative form, it expresses prohibition."
      ],
      "id": "en-be_to-en-verb-MxhwA2im"
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "4 25 24 15 12 8 13",
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          "_dis": "4 29 27 12 13 7 8",
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          "text": "What is he to do in such a difficult situation?",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used to ask or state what someone should do."
      ],
      "id": "en-be_to-en-verb-1IobyJX0"
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              4,
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            ],
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              9,
              11
            ],
            [
              22,
              24
            ]
          ],
          "text": "How am I to reach the top shelf without a ladder?",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used to ask how something is possible or achievable"
      ],
      "id": "en-be_to-en-verb-BvG7wUMi"
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "4 25 24 15 12 8 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
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          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
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              7,
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            ]
          ],
          "text": "If you were to find a wallet on the street, would you take it?",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used after if or in inversion to describe hypothetical or imagined scenarios."
      ],
      "id": "en-be_to-en-verb-voaLo3JT"
    }
  ],
  "word": "be to"
}
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    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
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    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Polish translations"
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  "lang_code": "en",
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              8,
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          "text": "The CEO is to announce the new company strategy tomorrow.",
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        "Used to express an official plan, arrangement, or scheduled event."
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        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
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              15,
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          ],
          "text": "Strange things were to happen all over the country.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used in the past tense to indicate that something was supposed to happen or was destined to happen."
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              6,
              12
            ]
          ],
          "text": "If we are to make it, we'd better get a taxi.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used after if to introduce a condition that must be met in order for something to happen or succeed."
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              4,
              10
            ]
          ],
          "text": "You are to hand in your essay by Friday.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used to give commands, instructions, or to state rules. In negative form, it expresses prohibition."
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              5,
              7
            ],
            [
              11,
              13
            ]
          ],
          "text": "What is he to do in such a difficult situation?",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used to ask or state what someone should do."
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              4,
              6
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            [
              9,
              11
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            [
              22,
              24
            ]
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          "text": "How am I to reach the top shelf without a ladder?",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used to ask how something is possible or achievable"
      ]
    },
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      "categories": [
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
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        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              7,
              14
            ]
          ],
          "text": "If you were to find a wallet on the street, would you take it?",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used after if or in inversion to describe hypothetical or imagined scenarios."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "lang_code": "pl",
      "sense": "used to express an official plan, arrangement, or scheduled event",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "mieć"
    }
  ],
  "word": "be to"
}

Download raw JSONL data for be to meaning in All languages combined (2.5kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-12-23 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-12-02 using wiktextract (6fdc867 and 9905b1f). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.