he
1[ hee; unstressed ee ]
/ hi; unstressed i /
pronoun, nominative he, possessive his, objective him; plural nominative they, possessive their or theirs, objective them.
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, plural hes.
any male person or animal; a man: hes and shes.
adjective
male (usually used in combination): a he-goat.
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Nearby words
Origin of he
1Usage note
Traditionally, the masculine singular pronouns he1 , 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.
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.
Definition for he (2 of 6)
he
2or heh
[ hey ]
/ heɪ /
noun
the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
any of the sounds represented by this letter.
Origin of he
2From the Hebrew word hēʾ
Definition for he (3 of 6)
Definition for he (4 of 6)
HE
or H.E.
high explosive.
Definition for he (5 of 6)
H.E.
high explosive.Also HE
His Eminence.
His Excellency; Her Excellency.
Definition for he (6 of 6)
he's
[ heez; unstressed eez ]
/ hiz; unstressed iz /
contraction of he is.
contraction of he has.
Usage note
See contraction.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for he (1 of 6)
he
1/ (hiː, unstressed iː) /
pronoun (subjective)
refers to a male person or animalhe looks interesting; he's a fine stallion
refers to an indefinite antecedent such as one, whoever, or anybodyeverybody can do as he likes in this country
refers to a person or animal of unknown or unspecified sexa member of the party may vote as he sees fit
noun
- a male person or animal
- (in combination)he-goat
- a children's game in which one player chases the others in an attempt to touch one of them, who then becomes the chaserCompare tag 2
- the person chasingCompare it 1 (def. 7)
Word Origin for he
Old English hē; related to Old Saxon hie, Old High German her he, Old Slavonic sĭ this, Latin cis on this side
British Dictionary definitions for he (2 of 6)
he
2/ (heɪ, Hebrew he) /
noun
the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet (ה), transliterated as h
British Dictionary definitions for he (3 of 6)
he
3/ (hiː, heɪ) /
interjection
an expression of amusement or derisionAlso: he-he!, hee-hee!
British Dictionary definitions for he (4 of 6)
He
the chemical symbol for
helium
British Dictionary definitions for he (5 of 6)
HE
abbreviation for
high explosive
His Eminence
His (or Her) Excellency
British Dictionary definitions for he (6 of 6)
he's
/ (hiːz) /
contraction of
he is or he has
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for he
he
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for he
He
The symbol for the elementhelium
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Science definitions for he (1 of 2)
He
The symbol for helium.
Science definitions for he (2 of 2)
helium
[ hē′lē-əm ]
He
A very lightweight, colorless, odorless element in the noble gas group. Helium occurs in natural gas, in radioactive ores, and in small amounts in the atmosphere. It has the lowest boiling point of any substance and is the second most abundant element in the universe. Helium is used to provide lift for balloons and blimps and to create artificial air that will not react chemically. Atomic number 2; atomic weight 4.0026; boiling point -268.9°C; density at 0°C 0.1785 gram per liter. See Periodic Table.
Word History
The second most abundant element in the universe after hydrogen, Helium (symbol He) is a colorless, odorless, nonmetallic gas that is produced abundantly by the nuclear fusion in all stars and is found in smaller amounts on Earth. It was discovered by the British scientist-and founding editor of the journal Nature-Joseph Norman Lockyer in 1868, while he was studying a solar eclipse with a spectroscope, an instrument that breaks light up into a spectrum. If an element is heated up enough to glow, the emitted light produces a unique spectrum when refracted through a prism. Lockyer noticed that the spectrum of the Sun's corona, which is visible only during a solar eclipse, contained lines produced by an unknown element. He named the element helium from helios, the Greek word for sun. Helios gives us many other words pertaining to the Sun, such as heliocentric and perihelion.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.