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

“He was granted house arrest with no grounds for it,” she said during her daily news conference in July.

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Every night before going to bed, Ela Minus shuts off her phone.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Melanie Winter, who dedicated much of her life to reimagining the Los Angeles River as a natural asset, has died.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The chief said the city of Los Angeles had failed her and the department.

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In her free time, she still scratched her itch for sports.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal