human being
Americannoun
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human beings
plural
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any individual of the genus Homo, especially a member of the species Homo sapiens.
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a person, especially as distinguished from other animals or as representing the human species.
living conditions not fit for human beings; a very generous human being.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of human being
First recorded in 1855–60
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 uprooting of the human being was a declared program.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Anthony Fauci’s diaries tell us what we already knew: Behind every public official’s confident assertions is a fallible human being.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
No one exemplifies this generous worldview better than Lotta, who turns out not to be the villain of May’s darkest imaginings but a complicated, compassionate and rather philosophical human being.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
He said he will remember Kelly as a "warm, genuine, authentic human being".
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
He’s shown me how empty a one hundred percent human being can be.
From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson
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.
