human being
Americannoun
-
human beings
plural
-
any individual of the genus Homo, especially a member of the species Homo sapiens.
-
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.
“To have to care for another human being, especially one who is more innocent than you inherently, is this tremendous emotional demand, which men don’t usually deal with,” Weitz said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2026
It also means that many criminal offenses hinge on attributing a wrongful act to the mental state of a human being.
From Slate ● Oct. 25, 2026
“Everybody in our building that has been around him for the last, you know, six to eight weeks just recognizes what a special human being he is,” Redick said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
"It's gigantic. No human being could process such a quantity" of data, said project leader Daniel Stoekl Ben Ezra, of the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
He had lost his job at the glass factory, and he had lost something even more precious: his dignity as a human being.
From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
