id

¹ American  

[id] / ɪd /

noun

Psychoanalysis.

1. the part of the psyche, residing in the unconscious, that is the source of instinctive impulses that seek satisfaction in accordance with the pleasure principle and are modified by the ego and the superego before they are given overt expression.

---

ID ² American  

[ahy-dee] / ˈaɪˈdi /

noun

1. a means of identification, as a card or bracelet containing official or approved identification information.

---

verb (used with object)

ID'd, IDed, ID'ed, ID'ing, IDing

1. to identify.

2. to issue an ID to.

   Go to the admissions office if you haven't been ID'd yet.

ID ³ American  

abbreviation

1. Idaho (approved especially for use with zip code).

2. infectious disease.

3. inner diameter, internal diameter, or inside diameter. Also i.d.

4. intellectual disability.

5. intelligent design.

---

I'd ⁴ American  

[ahyd] / aɪd /

1. contraction of I had:

   I'd never seen anything like it before!

2. contraction of I would:

   If I were you, I'd be careful what I wish for.

---

-id ⁵ American  

1. a suffix of nouns that have the general sense “offspring of, descendant of,” occurring originally in loanwords from Greek (Atreid; Nereid ), and productive in English on the Greek model, especially in names of dynasties, with the dynasty's founder as the base noun (Abbasid; Attalid ), and in names of periodic meteor showers, with the base noun usually denoting the constellation or other celestial object in which the shower appears (Perseid ).

---

-id ⁶ American  

1. a suffix occurring in English derivatives of modern Latin taxonomic names, especially zoological families and classes; such derivatives are usually nouns denoting a single member of the taxon or adjectives with the sense “pertaining to” the taxon: arachnid; canid .

---

-id ⁷ American  

1. variant of -ide: lipid .

---

-id ⁸ American  

1. a suffix occurring in descriptive adjectives borrowed from Latin, often corresponding to nouns ending in -or1 : fetid; humid; pallid .

---

id. ⁹ American  

abbreviation

1. idem.

---

Id. ¹⁰ American  

abbreviation

1. Idaho.

---

ID. ¹¹ American  

abbreviation

1. (in Iraq ) dinar; dinars.

---

I.D. ¹² American  

abbreviation

1. identification.

2. identity.

3. Military. Infantry Division.

4. Intelligence Department.

---

I'd ¹ British  

/ aɪd /

contraction

1. I had or I would

---

id ² British  

/ ɪd /

noun

1. psychoanal the mass of primitive instincts and energies in the unconscious mind that, modified by the ego and the superego, underlies all psychic activity

---

id. ³ British  

abbreviation

1. idem

---

-id ⁴ British  

suffix

1. indicating the names of meteor showers that appear to radiate from a specified constellation

   Orionids (from Orion)

2. indicating a particle, body, or structure of a specified kind

   energid

---

-id ⁵ British  

suffix

1. a variant of -ide

---

ID ⁶ British  

abbreviation

1. Idaho

2. identification (document)

3. Also: i.d.  inside diameter

4. Intelligence Department

5. Also: i.d.  intradermal

---

-id ⁷ British  

suffix

1. indicating members of a zoological family

   cyprinid

2. indicating members of a dynasty

   Seleucid

   Fatimid

---

id ⁸ British  

abbreviation

1. Indonesia

---

Id. ⁹ British  

abbreviation

1. Idaho

---

id Cultural  

1. In Freudian theory, the part of the psyche associated with instinctual, repressed, or antisocial desires, usually sexual or aggressive. In its efforts to satisfy these desires, the id comes into conflict with the social and practical constraints enforced by the ego and superego. (See also pleasure principle.)

---

Usage

See contraction.

Etymology

Origin of id¹

1920–25; < Latin id it, as a translation of German Es, special use of es it, as a psychoanalytic term

Origin of ID²

First recorded in 1935–40

Origin of I'd⁴

First recorded in 1590–1600

Origin of -id⁵

< Latin -id-, stem of -is < Greek: feminine patronymic suffix; or < Latin -idēs < Greek: masculine patronymic suffix

Origin of -id⁶

< Greek -idēs -id ¹, as singular of New Latin -ida -ida or -idae -idae

Origin of -id⁸

From the Latin suffix -idus

Origin of I.D.¹²

First recorded in 1950–55

Explanation

Use the word id when you talk about the most basic, impulsive part of a person's mind. A baby's instincts for food and comfort, for example, are controlled by her id. In psychology, particularly in psychoanalysis, the mind is divided into three basic parts. The most instinctive of these is the id, the drives for pleasure, food, sex, and aggression. The id is the most chaotic and least organized part of the mind, controlled in a healthy person by the ego and superego. The word id is a Latin translation of the "Es" in Sigmund Freud's "Das Ich und das Es." Both Es and id mean "it."

Example Sentences

His evocative depictions of forest scenes are stunning in their own right, hypnotically expressive and made to tickle your id, unearthing deeply rooted primal sensations.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

You can also get your fossil identified by sending pictures to the British Geological Survey or the Natural History Museum id unit.

From BBC • Feb. 19, 2026

They war between rationality and heart, ego and id.

From Salon • Jun. 14, 2025

Unleashed desire for things like vengeance readily leak over into other id fantasies.

From Slate • Dec. 18, 2024

I don’ give it to you I trow id out.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt