them
the objective case of plural they, used as a direct or indirect object: We saw them yesterday. I gave them the books.
Informal. (used instead of the pronoun they in the predicate after the verb to be): It's them, across the street.No, that isn’t them.
Informal. (used instead of the pronoun their before a gerund): The boys' parents objected to them hiking without adult supervision.
the objective case of singular they, used as a direct or indirect object:
(used to refer to a generic or unspecified person previously mentioned, about to be mentioned, or present in the immediate context): If you know anyone looking for a job, tell them to contact me.If an officer were to ask you that question directly, you would have to answer them honestly.
(used to refer to a specific or known person previously mentioned, about to be mentioned, or present in the immediate context): I can’t believe your ex took your cat with them when they moved out.
(used to refer to a nonbinary or gender-nonconforming person previously mentioned, about to be mentioned, or present in the immediate context): Randi’s on vacation, so you can’t see them until next week.
Nonstandard. those: He don't want them books.
Origin of them
1Grammar notes for them
Words Nearby them
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use them in a sentence
The good story formula, though, requires a structural us-and-them divide.
T.E. Lawrence Rides Again in Scott Anderson’s New History | Melik Kaylan | August 7, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThe culture of conflict bred an us-against-them identity among the church members.
The Westboro Defectors Speak: Phelps Granddaughters Embrace Tolerance | John Avlon | March 8, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThis didn't come naturally to them/us, who would much rather talk about health care as a right.
Dems: Starting to Get It, But As Usual Not Quite Right | Michael Tomasky | July 2, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTShe continued her us-versus-them approach to political discourse.
All this contributes to a broader us-versus-them conflict over values.
The English kings had turned to the only people who could have helped them-the Normans settled in Ireland; and they failed them.
Is Ulster Right? | AnonymousNo sooner did he say the word than he and the Weasel found them-selves standing before the open door of a nice little house.
The King of Ireland's Son | Padraic ColumShall the dead take thought for the dead to love them?What love was ever as deep as a grave?
The Ontario Readers: The High School Reader, 1886 | Ministry of EducationAfter this the Kafirs gave Savage a second very long name which meant "He-who-sits-down-on-snakes-and-makes-them-flat."
The Ivory Child | H. Rider HaggardThe only additional suggestion is the new and original test, the so-called "em-them" test.
The Critics Versus Shakspere | Francis A. Smith
British Dictionary definitions for them
/ (ðɛm, unstressed ðəm) /
(objective) refers to things or people other than the speaker or people addressed: I'll kill them; what happened to them?
mainly US a dialect word for themselves they got them a new vice president
a nonstandard word for those three of them oranges
Origin of them
1them
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
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