he/she

American

[hee-shee] / ˈhiˈʃi /

a combined form used as a singular nominative pronoun to denote someone either male or female.

Each student may begin when he/she is ready.

Gender

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.

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

If the patient needs more therapeutic protein, then he/she would take more tetracycline to boost production.

From Science Daily • Jan. 2, 2024

The Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics, in its opinion, concluded that a judge in that precise situation “may continue to preside in the matter provided the judge believes he/she can be fair and impartial.”

From Seattle Times • Jun. 20, 2023

A key metric that can signal positive potential of an entrepreneur is how many startups he/she has been a part of before — with success or failure.

From New York Times • Dec. 7, 2022

I send a quick apology to Numberlicious, but he/she still has me blocked.

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