this

[ this ]
See synonyms for: thisthese on Thesaurus.com

pronoun,plural these [theez]. /ðiz/.
  1. (used to indicate a person, thing, idea, state, event, time, remark, etc., as present, near, just mentioned or pointed out, supposed to be understood, or by way of emphasis): This is my coat.

  2. (used to indicate one of two or more persons, things, etc., referring to the one nearer in place, time, or thought; opposed to that): This is Liza and that is Amy.

  1. (used to indicate one of two or more persons, things, etc., implying a contrast or contradistinction; opposed tothat): I'd take that instead of this.

  2. what is about to follow: Now hear this!Watch this!

adjective,plural these [theez]. /ðiz/.
  1. (used to indicate a person, place, thing, or degree as present, near, just indicated or mentioned, or as well-known or characteristic): These people are my friends.This problem has worried me for a long time.

  2. (used to indicate the nearer in time, place, or thought of two persons, things, etc.; opposed to that.)

  1. (used to imply mere contradistinction; opposed to that.)

  2. (used in place of an indefinite article for emphasis): I was walking down the street when I heard this explosion.

adverb
  1. (used with adjectives and adverbs of quantity or extent) to the extent or degree indicated: this far;this softly.

Idioms about this

  1. with this, following this; hereupon: With this, he threw down his glass and left the table.

Origin of this

1
First recorded before 900; (pronoun and adjective) Middle English; Old English: nominative and accusative neuter singular of the demonstrative pronoun thes (masculine), thēos (feminine); cognate with German dies, Old Norse thissi; (adverb) Middle English, special use of the Old English instrumental singular thȳs, thīs, accusative singular neuter this, perhaps by association with thus

Words Nearby this

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use this in a sentence

  • Rodney is thoroughly and comfortably this-worldly; Michael is—other-worldly!

    Jane Journeys On | Ruth Comfort Mitchell
  • What has made thy heart so sore as to come and cry a-this-ons?

    Lizzie Leigh | Elizabeth Gaskell
  • For marriage is like life in this-that it is a field of battle, and not a bed of roses.

    The Pocket R.L.S. | Robert Louis Stevenson
  • Waal, we're ergwine ter nail up thet door ternight an' quit this-hyar place.

    The Code of the Mountains | Charles Neville Buck
  • "I reckon Newty's got a license ter dwell in this-hyar house," she belligerently asserted.

    The Code of the Mountains | Charles Neville Buck

British Dictionary definitions for this

this

/ (ðɪs) /


determiner(used before a singular noun)
    • used preceding a noun referring to something or someone that is closer: distinct from that: this dress is cheaper than that one; look at this picture

    • (as pronoun): this is Mary and that is her boyfriend; take this

    • used preceding a noun that has just been mentioned or is understood: this plan of yours won't work

    • (as pronoun): I first saw this on Sunday

    • used to refer to something about to be said, read, etc: consider this argument

    • (as pronoun): listen to this

    • the present or immediate: this time you'll know better

    • (as pronoun): before this, I was mistaken

  1. informal often used in storytelling, an emphatic form of a 1, the 1 I saw this big brown bear

  2. this and that various unspecified and trivial actions, matters, objects, etc

  3. this here US not standard an emphatic form of this (def. 1), this (def. 2), this (def. 3)

  4. with this or at this after this; thereupon

adverb
  1. used with adjectives and adverbs to specify a precise degree that is about to be mentioned: go just this fast and you'll be safe

Origin of this

1
Old English thēs, thēos, this (masculine, feminine, neuter singular); related to Old Saxon thit, Old High German diz, Old Norse thessi

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with this

this

In addition to the idioms beginning with this

  • this and that
  • this is where I came in
  • this side of

also see:

  • at this point
  • at this rate
  • at this stage
  • from this day forward
  • in this day and age
  • out of this world
  • shuffle off (this mortal coil)

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.