Sentence:  The Chenoweth brothers <WSD>were</WSD> experienced bridge builders , and against the competition of other , and better known , bridge designers and builders they had constructed nine of the covered , wooden bridges on the Parkersburg and Staunton Turnpike a dozen years before , as well as many other bridges for several counties . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)