he
pronoun
the male person or animal being discussed or last mentioned; that male.
he
1 American
[hee, ee]
/ hi, i /
pronoun
-
they,
plural nominative
-
him,
objective
-
them,
objective
-
his,
possessive
-
their,
possessive
-
theirs
possessive
-
the male person or animal being discussed or last mentioned; that male.
-
anyone (without reference to gender); that person.
He who hesitates is lost.
noun
-
hes
plural
adjective
he
2
American
[hay]
/ heɪ /
Or
heh
noun
-
the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
-
any of the sounds represented by this letter.
He
3
American
Symbol, Chemistry.
HE
4
American
Or
H.E.
H.E.
5
American
abbreviation
-
high explosive. Also HE
-
His Eminence.
-
His Excellency; Her Excellency.
he
1
British
/ iː, hiː /
pronoun
-
refers to a male person or animal
he looks interesting
he's a fine stallion
-
refers to an indefinite antecedent such as one, whoever, or anybody
everybody can do as he likes in this country
-
refers to a person or animal of unknown or unspecified sex
a member of the party may vote as he sees fit
noun
HE
2
British
abbreviation
-
high explosive
-
His Eminence
-
His ( or Her) Excellency
He
3
British
symbol
he
4
British
/ he, heɪ /
noun
he
5
British
/ hiː, heɪ /
interjection
Grammar
Traditionally, the masculine singular pronouns he, his, and him have been used generically to refer to indefinite pronouns like anyone, everyone, and someone ( Everyone who agrees should raise his right hand ) and to singular nouns that can be applied to either gender ( painter, parent, person, teacher, writer, etc.): Every writer knows that his first book is not likely to be a bestseller. This generic use is often criticized as sexist, although many speakers and writers continue the practice. Those who object to the generic use of he have developed various ways of avoiding it. One is to use he/she or she/he (or he or she or she or he ) or the appropriate case forms of these pairs: Everyone who agrees should raise his or her (or her or his or his/her or her/his ) right hand. Forms blending the feminine and masculine pronouns, as s/he, have not been widely adopted, probably because of confusion over how to say them. Another solution is to change the antecedent pronoun or noun from singular to plural so that the plural pronouns they, their, and them can be used: All who agree should raise their right hands. All writers know that their first books are not likely to be bestsellers. See also they .
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of he1
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English hē; cognate with Dutch hij, Old Saxon hē, Old High German her; cf. her , here ( def. ), it 1
Origin of he2
From Hebrew hē; cognate with Arabic hāʾ hā ( def. )
Vocabulary lists containing he
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:
“I actually have an idea that I would love to shoot, but I want to make it a drama. I don’t want to make it a fantasy movie,” he explains.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
As he says, he’ll take whatever action he wants.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026
Planning agents representing the bird enthusiast said he wanted to create a "major tourism venture", and that his former business in the grounds of Picton Castle ended because the lease was not renewed.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
And he had ‘Hellboy’ already, opening week ... and it didn’t have a cover either!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
He’d been devoted to his diary, documenting everything that he had witnessed since he left New York, including details of the Japanese invasion.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
He believes that anything touched by humans has a better chance to endure.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
He certainly doesn’t understand compromise or the importance of local issues.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026
He was diagnosed with testicular cancer, which spread to his lung and lymph nodes, in April 2025.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
He also noted the "unbearable stress that the long drawn out legal process has had on the family".
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
He writes to Harlow for information and urges the Vermont doctor to back up his case by collecting formal statements from eyewitnesses in Cavendish.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
The study was conducted by Xuhang Zhang, a postdoctoral researcher at IGG working under the supervision of Professor HE Huaiyu.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
“Judge Engoron is the finder of fact. So HE will decide the credibility of witnesses, among other important issues,” she wrote.
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2023
HE: You’re the only woman I ever loved.”
From Washington Post ● May 3, 2022
In the context of all Cabinet Ministers resigning, I have today submitted my resignation as Governor, @CBSL to HE President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
From BBC ● Apr. 4, 2022
SO HE WAS, three days later, thinner, paler, and not a whit daunted by his two months in a concrete cell.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
It is no chore to admire the vast number of fine Lasker games, such as his win over English star H.E.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 26, 2023
Kate Larson is also a fan of YA fiction, and she’s especially excited to sell customers “Godly Heathens,” a novel by local author H.E.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 13, 2023
"The Congo government of H.E. Kabila, supported by some regional and international actors, gave them free tenancy in North Kivu and Ituri," Museveni said, referring to Congolese provinces.
From Reuters ● Jul. 14, 2023
H.E. faithfully prayed the Rosary for those suffering from the virus.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 16, 2021
Anyway, apart from shrapnel or a direct hit from an H.E., we were comparatively safe, being below ground level.
From How I Filmed the War A Record of the Extraordinary Experiences of the Man Who Filmed the Great Somme Battles, etc. by Geoffrey H. Malins
“But clearly there’s problems—problems that are still here from 4 years ago. Simply put, hes not it.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 31, 2025
Why are people moaning about Axel Blake because hes supposedly well known?
From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2022
She – there are hes, but the disciples I’ve spotted in the wild are predominantly female – is deaf to criticism, immune to self-doubt, ready to spring to action.
From The Guardian ● May 16, 2018
But I wonder if hes being too literal here.
From New York Times ● Jan. 19, 2018
Only I feel sorry for him because hes all alone and he has no frends.
From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes
They’re continents, but they are only in maps that are very secret.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Yeah, those are just polls and they only offer you a vague snapshot in time.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026
"The appellant keeps a few chickens, ducks and horses on site along with a variety of more unusual animals including eagles, falcons, parrots, hornbills, mongooses, skunks, porcupine and wallaby," they said.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
You give them years and years and years, and then they just move down the current into the oblivion of the culture,’” Del Toro says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Together, they realize that the cell is the fundamental unit of life.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
I still loved him, but our marriage was nothing like the marriage I had vowed to protect.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Opened in 1960, it houses a variety of objects that once belonged to him, including his easel and wheelchair, as well as photographs and personal letters.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
I continued managing his care and protecting him, but I also did not want to take away something that brought him happiness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
"I talk to him every night. I look at his photograph and talk to him. It's heartbreaking."
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
With his good hand, Caesar grabs Father, holding him back.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Thus, when his mother started reading child psychology books to better understand a young Del Toro, he read them as well, so that he could try to manipulate her.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
It looks better, I suppose, to have a thousand people kept from entering a venue than seating them in a spacious arena he can no longer fill.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026
Police said they would remain in the area as officers undertake searches for anything that may help them to understand and identify those responsible.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
I’m asking because New York’s most historically entitled, championship-gorged baseball club has a crisis: no one’s scared of them anymore.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
“She brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.”
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
I even organized outings for his table mates, calling them Seniors on the Run.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
He’s too busy feathering his own nest while laughing off any pretense of ethical behavior.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026
Planning agents representing the bird enthusiast said he wanted to create a "major tourism venture", and that his former business in the grounds of Picton Castle ended because the lease was not renewed.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
I became his interpreter, driver, scheduler, protector and caregiver.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
It is believed that Villalobos is responsible for giving the Philippines its name in 1543, though it may have been a member of his crew.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
For example, in 2021, a dozen Turkish bottom trawlers fishing illegally in the Aegean Sea tried to ram a Greek research vessel when the scientists began filming their activity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Picking him over 23-year-old Cooper Connolly in place of injured all-rounder Cameron Green, Australia named an entire XI aged over 30 for the first time in their history.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
If the Brewers are going to take down the heavily favored Dodgers, their group of Southland products will be key in the National League Championship Series that begins Sunday in Milwaukee.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
The person submitted a photo of goats and a Labrador to the council and said they had strayed onto their land.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
American troops, who have occupied the islands for generations, increase their presence as the new decade approaches.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Williams was watching the stream on a television as his wife and son were getting ready for bed when a life-changing fortune became theirs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
That’s your issue to grapple with — not theirs.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
Nick Robinson has a conversation with, not an interrogation of, the people who shape our political thinking about what shaped theirs.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Grotts isn’t a fan of honeymoon funds—she called the concept a “money-moon”—but noted that, when giving a couple cash, “it’s theirs to use however they wish.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
The only fireplace Danny had ever seen in someone’s house had been at the Finnegans’—but theirs had expensive fake logs that ran on electricity and had flames on a screen.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
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.
