the
1 Americandefinite article
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(used, especially before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect, as opposed to the indefinite or generalizing force of the indefinite article a oran ).
the book you gave me; Come into the house.
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(used to mark a proper noun, natural phenomenon, ship, building, time, point of the compass, branch of endeavor, or field of study as something well-known or unique).
the sun; the Alps; the Queen Elizabeth; the past; the West.
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(used with or as part of a title).
the Duke of Wellington; the Reverend John Smith.
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(used to mark a noun as indicating the best-known, most approved, most important, most satisfying, etc.).
the skiing center of the U.S.; If you're going to work hard, now is the time.
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(used to mark a noun as being used generically).
The dog is a quadruped.
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(used in place of a possessive pronoun, to note a part of the body or a personal belonging).
He won't be able to play football until the leg mends.
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(used before adjectives that are used substantively, to note an individual, a class or number of individuals, or an abstract idea).
to visit the sick; from the sublime to the ridiculous.
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(used before a modifying adjective to specify or limit its modifying effect).
He took the wrong road and drove miles out of his way.
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(used to indicate one particular decade of a lifetime or of a century).
the sixties; the Gay Nineties.
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(one of many of a class or type, as of a manufactured item, as opposed to an individual one).
Did you listen to the radio last night?
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enough.
He saved until he had the money for a new car.
She didn't have the courage to leave.
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(used distributively, to note any one separately) for, to, or in each; a or an.
at one dollar the pound.
adverb
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(used to modify an adjective or adverb in the comparative degree and to signify “in or by that,” “on that account,” “in or by so much,” or “in some or any degree”).
He's been on vacation and looks the better for it.
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(used in correlative constructions to modify an adjective or adverb in the comparative degree, in one instance with relative force and in the other with demonstrative force, and signifying “by how much … by so much” or “in what degree … in that degree”).
the more the merrier; The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
determiner
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used preceding a noun that has been previously specified Compare a 1
the pain should disappear soon
the man then opened the door
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used with a qualifying word or phrase to indicate a particular person, object, etc, as distinct from others Compare a 1
ask the man standing outside
give me the blue one
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used preceding certain nouns associated with one's culture, society, or community
to go to the doctor
listen to the news
watch the television
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used preceding present participles and adjectives when they function as nouns
the singing is awful
the dead salute you
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used preceding titles and certain uniquely specific or proper nouns, such as place names
the United States
the Honourable Edward Brown
the Chairman
the moon
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used preceding a qualifying adjective or noun in certain names or titles
William the Conqueror
Edward the First
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used preceding a noun to make it refer to its class generically
the white seal is hunted for its fur
this is good for the throat
to play the piano
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used instead of my, your, her, etc, with parts of the body
take me by the hand
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(usually stressed) the best, only, or most remarkable
Harry's is the club in this town
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used with proper nouns when qualified
written by the young Hardy
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another word for per, esp with nouns or noun phrases of cost
fifty pence the pound
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facetious my; our
the wife goes out on Thursdays
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used preceding a unit of time in phrases or titles indicating an outstanding person, event, etc
match of the day
player of the year
adverb
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(often foll by for) used before comparative adjectives or adverbs for emphasis
she looks the happier for her trip
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used correlatively before each of two comparative adjectives or adverbs to indicate equality
the sooner you come, the better
the more I see you, the more I love you
combining form
Pronunciation
As shown above, the pronunciation of the definite article the changes, primarily depending on whether the following sound is a consonant or a vowel. Before a consonant sound the pronunciation is : the book, the mountain . Before a vowel sound it is usually , sometimes : the apple, the end . As an emphatic form (“I didn't say a book—I said the book.”) or a citation form (“The word the is a definite article.”), the usual pronunciation is , although in both of these uses of the stressed form, is often replaced by , especially among younger speakers.
Etymology
Origin of the1
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English, uninflected stem of the demonstrative pronoun; that
Origin of the2
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English thē, thȳ, instrumental case of demonstrative pronoun; that, lest
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.
Our critic noted that the playwright “has a gift for blending dark subject matter with offbeat comedy.”
Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack said she doesn’t see any need to change interest rates for several months after the central bank cut rates at its last three meetings.
There was also the possibility of being a social outcast in an era of card-tapping.
Some of the same money managers leading the charge to “democratize” private markets—like KKR and BlackRock—are among the worst performers in the publicly traded private-credit funds called business development companies.
Investors seek the relative safety of their predictable cash flows.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
