he/she
AmericanGender
Is he gender-neutral? See he 1.
Etymology
Origin of he/she
First recorded in 1975–80
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.
Employees of executives often tell me, “Yes, my manager listens but I don’t think he/she does anything with the feedback I provide.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
The indicator’s creator reported that it had a better track record predicting the U.S. stock market’s 10-year return than any of the other valuation indicators of which he/she was aware.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 27, 2026
It says school officials “should not consent to access by an immigration enforcement officer unless he/she declares exigent circumstances or has a federal judicial warrant.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2025
If the patient only requires a small amount of the therapeutic protein, then he/she will only take a small dose of tetracycline, which will turn on the therapeutic gene only a little.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 2, 2024
And not only on this problem, but on every issue he/she has taken on in the past week.
From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty
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.
