contraction of it is:
It's starting to rain.
contraction of it has: It's been a long time.
While it is possible to use its as a predicate adjective ( The cat is angry because the bowl you're eating out of is its! ) or as a pronoun meaning “that or those belonging to it” ( Your notebook pages are torn. Borrow my notebook—its aren't ), such use is rare and in most circumstances strained. See also me.
See contraction.
One of the commonest mistakes made in written English is the confusion of its and it's . You can see examples of this every day in books, magazines, and newspapers: its good for us; a smart case with it's own mirror , and even Cheng, and its' subsidiaries . Its refers to something belonging to or relating to a thing that has already been mentioned: the baby threw its rattle out of the pram . It's is a shortened way of saying it is or it has (the apostrophe indicates that a letter has been omitted: it's a lovely day; it's been a great weekend .
A very common mistake is to write its (the possessive form of it ) when it's (the short form of it is or it has ) is required: It's [it is] unclear what he meant. It's [it has] been wonderful seeing you again. But do not use it's for it has when has is the main verb: It has a strong flavor; use it sparingly cannot be written as It's a strong flavor… An equally common mistake is to use it's for the possessive, probably because ordinary possessives of nouns are formed with an apostrophe: the dog's coat; Mary's cell phone. But the possessive its is a pronoun, not a noun, and, like other possessive pronouns ( his, hers, yours, and theirs ), is written without that particular bit of punctuation: I have to fix my bike. Its front wheel came off.
See its.
First recorded in 1590–1600; earlier it's, equivalent to it 1 + 's 2
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Tatyana Kim, its founder, has promised to help vendors and said Wednesday that the company had begun making payments to smaller vendors whose stock was destroyed in the attack near Moscow.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
“The use of the books at issue to train Claude and its precursors was exceedingly transformative and was a fair use,” Alsup noted in his earlier judgment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
They first appeared in Guernsey in 2017 and the States said the non-native, invasive species poses a major threat to the island's biodiversity and honeybees, which make up 39% of its diet on average.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Hundreds of thousands of third-party vendors use its online bazaar as a storefront, selling everything from clothing to housewares to Sony PlayStations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
As a living organism becomes more complex, its cells differentiate—that is, they specialize.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
Ever since, we’ve been obsessed with what various age demographics are thinking and doing as if it’s the key to understanding America.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
In any case, it’s a win-win for you.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
Quite frankly, it’s hard to imagine Netanyahu would miss the funeral.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
I know that sometimes your Piscean Venus can feel like a curse, but I promise you, it’s a gift from the Cosmic Mother.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Although it’s a proud and joyful day for her, it’s also racked with uncertainty.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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.
