her

¹

[hur, her, er]

pronoun

1. the objective case of she.

   We saw her this morning. Give this book to her.

2. the possessive case of she (used as an attributive adjective).

   Her coat is the one on the chair. I'm sorry about her leaving.

3. the dative case of she.

   I gave her the book.

4. Informal.,  (used instead of the pronoun she in the predicate after the verbto be ).

   It's her. It isn't her.

noun

1. Slang.,  a female.

   Is the new baby a her or a him?

her.

²

abbreviation

1. heraldic.

2. heraldry.

her

¹

/ hɜː, hə, ə /

pronoun

1. refers to a female person or animal

   he loves her

   they sold her a bag

   something odd about her

   lucky her!

2. refers to things personified as feminine or traditionally to ships and nations

3. a dialect word for herself

   she needs to get her a better job

determiner

1. of, belonging to, or associated with her

   her silly ideas

   her hair

   her smoking annoys me

her.

²

abbreviation

1. heraldic

2. heraldry

Gender Note

See he ¹, me.

Word History and Origins

Origin of her¹

before 900; Middle English her ( e ), Old English hire, genitive and dative of hēo she (feminine of hē he ¹ )

Word History and Origins

Origin of her¹

Old English hire, genitive and dative of hēo _she , feminine of hēo _he ¹ ; related to Old High German ira, Gothic izōs, Middle Dutch hare

Example Sentences

Anaheim police confirmed that fire and rescue units responded at 6:30 p.m. and found a woman in her 60s unresponsive.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The piano was first made famous by exotic dancer Carol Doda, who made her nightly entrance atop the instrument.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Mitchell’s husband is a contractor, so she was able to move back into her home much sooner than her neighbors.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Gail Cairns, from Belfast, started experiencing sight loss, headaches, and eye pain in July 2025, but waited four days before getting her eyes checked.

Read more on BBC

In less than a week on the job, she secured a grand jury indictment against Mr Comey after prosecutors before her had declined to take on the case due to a lack of evidence.

Read more on BBC