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.

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ID ² American  

[ahy-dee] / ˈaɪˈdi /

noun

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

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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.

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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.

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-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 ).

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-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 .

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-id ⁷ American  

1. variant of -ide: lipid .

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-id ⁸ American  

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

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id. ⁹ American  

abbreviation

1. idem.

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Id. ¹⁰ American  

abbreviation

1. Idaho.

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ID. ¹¹ American  

abbreviation

1. (in Iraq ) dinar; dinars.

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I.D. ¹² American  

abbreviation

1. identification.

2. identity.

3. Military. Infantry Division.

4. Intelligence Department.

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id ¹ 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

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I'd ² British  

/ aɪd /

contraction

1. I had or I would

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Id. ³ British  

abbreviation

1. Idaho

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id ⁴ British  

abbreviation

1. Indonesia

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ID ⁵ British  

abbreviation

1. Idaho

2. identification (document)

3. Also: i.d.  inside diameter

4. Intelligence Department

5. Also: i.d.  intradermal

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id. ⁶ British  

abbreviation

1. idem

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-id ⁷ British  

suffix

1. a variant of -ide

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-id ⁸ British  

suffix

1. indicating members of a zoological family

   cyprinid

2. indicating members of a dynasty

   Seleucid

   Fatimid

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-id ⁹ 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

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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.)

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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

Example Sentences

Jonas adds, “It’s allegorical in nature. What if I could just take this man and chain him up? It’s making that literal for us to watch. It’s about that female id deep inside of us.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 26, 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

By 2006, American Lawyer magazine observed he “has become so indispensable to Citigroup that he carries an employee id card from the bank.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026

Were they a bunch of demonic St. Pauls converting the gentiles, or were they surfers riding the wave of the nation’s collective id?

From Salon • Nov. 1, 2025

“My lord,” Grover said, “please, you must come back with me! The Elders will never believe id They’ll be overjoyed! You can save the wild!”

From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan