people
Americannoun
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peoples
plural
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persons indefinitely or collectively; persons in general.
to find it easy to talk to people; What will people think?
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persons, whether men, women, or children, considered as numerable individuals forming a group.
Twenty people volunteered to help.
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human beings, as distinguished from animals or other beings.
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the entire body of persons who constitute a community, tribe, nation, or other group by virtue of a common culture, history, religion, or the like.
the people of Australia; the Jewish people.
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the persons of any particular group, company, or number (sometimes used in combination).
the people of a parish; educated people; salespeople.
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the ordinary persons, as distinguished from those who have wealth, rank, influence, etc..
a man of the people.
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the subjects, followers, or subordinates of a ruler, leader, employer, etc..
the king and his people.
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the body of enfranchised citizens of a state.
representatives chosen by the people.
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a person's family or relatives.
My grandmother's people came from Iowa.
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(used in the possessive in Communist or left-wing countries to indicate that an institution operates under the control of or for the benefit of the people, especially under Communist leadership).
people's republic; people's army.
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animals of a specified kind.
the monkey people of the forest.
verb (used with object)
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peoples,
present (3rd person singular)
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peopled,
past participle, past
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peopling
present participle
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to furnish with people; populate.
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to supply or stock as if with people.
a meadow peopled with flowers.
noun
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persons collectively or in general
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a group of persons considered together
blind people
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the persons living in a country and sharing the same nationality
the French people
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one's family
he took her home to meet his people
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persons loyal to someone powerful
the king's people accompanied him in exile
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the mass of persons without special distinction, privileges, etc
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the body of persons in a country, esp those entitled to vote
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verb
Grammar
Is the plural persons or people? See person.
Usage
People is usually followed by a plural verb and referred to by a plural pronoun: People are always looking for a bargain. The people have made their choice. The possessive is formed regularly, with the apostrophe before the -s: people's desire for a bargain; the people's choice. When people means “the entire body of persons who constitute a community or other group by virtue of a common culture, history, etc.,” it is used as a singular, with the plural peoples : This people shares characteristics with certain inhabitants of central Asia. The aboriginal peoples of the Western Hemisphere speak many different languages. The formation of the possessive is regular; the singular is people's and the plural is peoples '. At one time, some usage guides maintained that people could not be preceded by a number, as in Fewer than 30 people showed up. This use is now unquestionably standard in all contexts.
Synonym Usage
See race 2.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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peoplernoun
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outpeopleverb (used with object)
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peoplelessadjective
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underpeopledadjective
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well-peopledadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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peoplesimple
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peoplessimple
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have peopledperfect
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has peopledperfect
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am peoplingprogressive
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are peoplingprogressive
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is peoplingprogressive
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have been peoplingperfect progressive
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has been peoplingperfect progressive
Past
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peopledsimple
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had peopledperfect
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was peoplingprogressive
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were peoplingprogressive
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had been peoplingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of people
First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English peple, from Anglo-French poeple, Old French pueple, from Latin populus; see popular
Explanation
Human beings are people. Individuals, folks, humankind — we're all people. The word people is usually a noun, as in: two or more humans. It can also mean "all the citizens," as in a political leader who understands the needs of the people. People can also be a verb meaning "to inhabit or fill with people," as in: we need to people the empty seats so that tonight's speaker isn't disappointed with a small audience.
Vocabulary lists containing people
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.
See Examples For:
“They are mental lines in the sand, where people have made actual gains and losses,” Johnson said in phone interview with MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 10, 2026
And even if Avedon hadn’t been the charismatic figure we meet during the documentary, he orbited much the same world as the other people who needed no first names—Chaplin, Picasso, Kissinger, Warhol, Dylan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2026
Now the people on the receiving end of this thumping sound quite worried:
From Slate ● Nov. 10, 2026
Lisa Walker, the chief executive of Neuroendocrine Cancer UK, said that the average time between people experiencing a first symptom and getting a diagnosis is five years.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2026
The people of the Philippines had their own traditions, religions, chiefdoms, and belief systems based on cultural, linguistic, and ethnic groups.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
“We are the result of many cultures, stories, peoples and languages, and this gives rise to a creativity all our own. But there is a dimension to our culture that goes beyond aesthetics: our openness.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
Yet he says neither side is lying, something that is “not confusing if you understand the trauma that native peoples are still experiencing to this day.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
Foran said that at the time, the colonies that later became Canada relied on Great Britain and its Royal Navy for its defence, as well as indigenous peoples who served as generals in major battles.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
"We must grasp the historical significance of what is taking place, namely an unprecedented encounter between peoples and cultures."
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
In elementary school, did you learn that some Indigenous peoples thought of corn, beans, and squash as “the three sisters”? Did you help plant a “three sisters” garden as a school project?
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
He found the social rules and structure of working life easier to navigate but would often feel "bombarded" and "peopled out" by the end of a long day.
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2024
The film is peopled by gaudy clichés in place of real human characters.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2024
The system of transporting criminals to Siberia has proved, the more the territory became peopled with voluntary settlers, prejudicial to Siberia itself.
From New York Times ● May 21, 2024
Her narrative is peopled with physicians and psychologists heartlessly and casually breaching their professional responsibilities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 2, 2023
In those first years the roads were peopled with refugees shrouded up in their clothing.
From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy
But he also may have been seeking to expand the notion of the American polity, peopling the Revolutionary moment with groups typically excluded from it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
"People like me who are interested in the peopling of the Americas are very interested in knowing if those first Americans came with dogs," Lanoë added.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 4, 2024
“It really seems like a peopling of Europe after the last glacial maximum,” he said.
From New York Times ● Mar. 1, 2023
“This is fascinating work,” University of Kansas, Lawrence, paleogeneticist Jennifer Raff, who studies the early peopling of the Americas, wrote in an email.
From Science Magazine ● Mar. 20, 2022
The fractious archaeological community embraced his ideas with rare unanimity; they rapidly became the standard model for the peopling of the Americas.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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