All related terms of '-to-be'

If you have been had , someone has tricked you, for example by selling you something at too high a price .

If you are able to do something, you have skills or qualities which make it possible for you to do it.

If you are used to something, you are familiar with it because you have done it or experienced it many times before.

to be unquestionably or without doubt

You use to be sure when you are admitting that something is true, although it seems to contradict a more general statement that you are making.

If you are about to do something, you are going to do it very soon . If something is about to happen , it will happen very soon.

If you say that something is going to happen , you mean that it will happen in the future , usually quite soon .

If you say that something is meant to happen , you mean that it is expected to happen or that it ought to happen.

to be at fault or culpable

A bride-to-be is a woman who is soon going to be married.

A mother-to-be is a woman who is pregnant , especially for the first time.

You say to be exact to indicate that you are slightly correcting or giving more detailed information about what you have been saying .

You use fair in expressions such as to be fair and let's be fair when you want to add a favourable comment about someone or something that you have just mentioned and to correct a false impression that you might have given.

You can say ' to be frank ' or ' to be frank with you ' to introduce a statement which is your honest opinion , especially when the person you are talking to might not like it.

You can say ' to be honest ' before or after a statement to indicate that you are telling the truth about your own opinions or feelings , especially if you think these will disappoint the person you are talking to.

not to concern or be significant to (someone)

If you are witness to something, you see it happen .

a woman who is expecting a baby

to want desperately to urinate

You say ' to be precise ' to indicate that you are giving more detailed or accurate information than you have just given.

to sit , lie or lean in an ungainly way, with one's limbs spread out

If an object is cut to size , its size is altered to make it suitable for a particular purpose.

If you say that something is news to you, you mean that you did not previously know what you have just been told , especially when you are surprised or annoyed about it.

If you say that you are raring to go , you mean that you are very eager to start doing something.

alleged or believed to be

very angry

If an area or a place is off limits , you are not allowed to go there.

If you say that something is the case , you mean that it is true or correct .

would you please

to be fully alert to (a person, thing, action , etc)

You use not to be outdone to introduce an action which someone takes in response to a previous action.

to be alive

If you say that someone will be eaten alive , you mean that they will be completely destroyed or defeated by someone who is much stronger.

to be based ; to have headquarters (in a place)

if you are out of something, you no longer have any of it

If you are taken aback by something, you are surprised or shocked by it and you cannot respond at once.

If you are tickled pink , you are extremely pleased about something.

to give birth (to)

to be very full

If something is burnt to a crisp , it is completely burnt.

if two people who are disagreeing with each other are eyeball to eyeball, they are physically close together, and it seems likely that they will start arguing or fighting

to be impossible for someone to understand

to be in a very difficult situation where you have been abandoned by the people who previously supported you

When something is liable to happen , it is very likely to happen.

to be (or become) aware of; have (or attain ) a proper understanding of

to become (or be) informed or knowledgeable about

If you say that one thing has something to do with or is something to do with another thing, you mean that the two things are connected or that the first thing is about the second thing.

If someone says to you that it would be wise to do something, they are advising you to do it, because it is the most sensible and reasonable action or decision in a particular situation.

unforgettable

to be very impressive ; to be sensational