it
pronoun
(used to represent an inanimate thing understood, previously mentioned, about to be mentioned, or present in the immediate context).
Showing results for it.
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it-s.
it
1 American
[it]
/ ɪt /
pronoun
-
they,
plural nominative
-
them,
objective
-
its,
possessive
-
their,
possessive
-
theirs
possessive
-
(used to represent an inanimate thing understood, previously mentioned, about to be mentioned, or present in the immediate context).
It has whitewall tires and red upholstery.
You can't tell a book by its cover.
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(used to represent an animal understood, previously mentioned, or about to be mentioned whose sex is unknown or disregarded).
It was the largest shark ever caught off the Florida coast.
The horse had its saddle on.
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(used to represent a person of previously unknown identity, in a sentence seeking, establishing, or commenting on their identity).
"I heard the phone ring—who was it?" "It was John."
Someone got hurt, but they think it was not the driver.
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(used to represent a group understood or previously mentioned).
The judge told the jury it must decide two issues.
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(used to represent a concept or abstract idea understood or previously stated).
It all started with my choice to walk out that door.
He has been taught to believe it all his life.
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(used to represent an action or activity understood, previously mentioned, or about to be mentioned).
Since you don't like it, you don't have to go skiing.
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(used as the impersonal subject of the verb to be, especially to refer to time, distance, or the weather).
It is six o'clock.
It is five miles to town.
It was foggy.
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(used in statements expressing an action, condition, fact, circumstance, or situation without reference to an agent).
If it weren't for Edna, I wouldn't go.
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(used in referring to something as the origin or cause of pain, pleasure, etc.).
Where does it hurt?
It looks bad for the candidate.
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(used in referring to a source not specifically named or described).
It is said that love is blind.
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(used in referring to the general state of affairs, circumstances, fate, or life in general).
How's it going with you?
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(used as an anticipatory subject or object in order to shift emphasis).
It is necessary that you do your duty.
It is I who should apologize.
It was a very kind thing he did there.
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Informal. (used instead of the pronoun its before a gerund).
It having rained for only one hour didn't help the crops.
noun
-
(in children's games) the player called upon to perform some task, such as, in tag, the one who must catch the other players.
-
Slang.
-
sex appeal.
-
sexual intercourse.
-
idioms
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get with it, to become active or interested.
He was warned to get with it or resign.
-
with it,
-
aware of the latest fads, fashions, etc.; up-to-date.
By grooving on teenage slang, the principal is trying to show us how with it she is, but the effect is something like seeing a mohawk on Grandma.
-
attentive or alert.
I'm just not with it early in the morning.
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understanding or appreciative of something.
Let's face it—when it comes to originality, Hollywood isn't really with it.
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Carnival Slang. being a member of the carnival.
-
-
it is what it is. see it is what it is.
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it's not over till it's over. see it's not over till it's over.
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have it,
-
to love someone.
She really has it bad for him.
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to possess the requisite abilities for something; be talented, adept, or proficient.
In this business you either have it or you don't.
-
it
2
American
[it]
/ ɪt /
noun
British Informal.
It
3
American
abbreviation
IT
4
American
abbreviation
It.
5
American
abbreviation
-
Italian.
-
Italy.
it
1
British
/ ɪt /
pronoun
-
refers to a nonhuman, animal, plant, or inanimate thing, or sometimes to a small baby
it looks dangerous
give it a bone
-
refers to an unspecified or implied antecedent or to a previous or understood clause, phrase, etc
it is impossible
I knew it
-
used to represent human life or experience either in totality or in respect of the present situation
how's it going?
I've had it
to brazen it out
-
used as a formal subject (or object), referring to a following clause, phrase, or word
it helps to know the truth
I consider it dangerous to go on
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used in the nominative as the formal grammatical subject of impersonal verbs. When it functions absolutely in such sentences, not referring to any previous or following clause or phrase, the context is nearly always a description of the environment or of some physical sensation
it is raining
it hurts
-
informal (used as complement with be) the crucial or ultimate point
the steering failed and I thought that was it
noun
-
(in children's games) the player whose turn it is to try to touch another Compare he 1
-
informal
-
sexual intercourse
-
sex appeal
-
-
informal a desirable quality or ability
he's really got it
It.
2
British
abbreviation
-
Italian
-
Italy
IT
3
British
abbreviation
it
4
British
abbreviation
it
More Idioms
Grammar
See me.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of it1
First recorded before 900; Middle English hit, hitte, it, Old English hit, neuter of he 1
Origin of it2
First recorded in 1930–35; It(alian vermouth)
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.
See Examples For:
And what will it take to get Americans hiring — and getting hired — again?
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
But it isn’t nearly as simple as Flores sending extra guys over and over.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
“The $25 spread offers a maximum profit of $19.04 per share against that $5.96 commitment, giving it approximately a three to one risk-reward ratio,” said Ceresna.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
Lagarde is set to depart the ECB in February, and the European Council said it will immediately begin the process of finding her successor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Today, it is well understood that the disease is not highly contagious; therefore there is no reason to isolate anyone.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
It isn’t just children who are spooked—the Halloween arms race has alienated adults, too.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
It already has statewide updates and evacuation orders on all fires over 10 acres, with detailed local information on fires and other emergencies from local authorities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
It is not just children who can be affected badly by fireworks.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
It can also bring a measure of clarity.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
It is a “cross-section of the all the world’s races and nationalities,” as patient Stanley Stein describes it.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Intel’s PC business is under pressure as memory-chip prices dent demand and as corporate IT teams have less budget for laptops.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
In a statement, Meta told the BBC that may temporarily restrict accounts to comply with India's IT Rules but did not explain the specific reasons for restricting Acharya's account or Manjul's post.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
The BBC has sought comment from India's IT ministry on the restrictions and reported instructions to Meta but has not received a response.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
Australia said on Friday it had sanctioned two North Korean individuals and companies over the use of "fraudulent" IT workers and cybercrime to earn cash for the isolated nuclear-armed state.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
His ATK Systems colleagues would come to him for computer advice rather than go to the IT department.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
When the apartment finally went quiet, I opened my Notes app and typed: “You. Can. Have. It. All.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
Its "See It. Say It. Sorted." campaign was launched in 2016 and then relaunched last year, encouraging the public to report "anything unusual", either to station staff or to British Transport Police.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2025
“Let. It. Go,” wrote The Sentinel on April 2 in an editorial, referring to the popular song from the Disney movie “Frozen.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 17, 2023
Municipalities are working to this end, with programs such as New York City’s $2 million “Trash It. Don’t Flush It” public awareness campaign.
From Salon ● Dec. 26, 2019
“Love it. Love. It. This is exactly what we need for our first scene today.”
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
A frugal couple find themselves looking at a rosy financial future, with likely more money left in retirement than they will ever spend.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
A handful of top long-distance athletes work at running stores, fitting people who have no idea how fast they are; ‘That’s 4:30 a mile!’
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
You can get the bread during breakfast, but they won’t sell you the baguettes until after 11 a.m.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
Can they finally afford to splurge in their golden years?
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
They promise villagers that the Japanese Army has no intention of harming them as long as they follow the rules.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
No matter how much he begged them to help us, they rarely called and didn’t even visit him during the last three years of his life.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
The planned terms, which Meta has since put on hold, could allow the company to collect content from the websites of publishers without offering them a choice about if or how their content is used.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
You can’t make them give you anything earlier.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
They stop people from setting them off on private property, but organised displays are allowed.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
When she arrived, she served glasses of brandy and cordial to the Japanese soldiers and gave them Christmas gifts.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
The highest corporate revenue on record appears to be the $713 billion that Walmart recorded in its year to Jan. 31.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
Jacob Misiorowski delivered his most dominant performance of the playoffs, overwhelming the Rays over 5⅔ scoreless innings in Game 5 to help the team clinch its first championship.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
The program’s retirement trust fund is projected to exhaust its reserves in roughly six years — coinciding with each newly elected senator’s term.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
The company said revenue surged to 269.02 billion yuan, equivalent to $40.39 billion, for the January-September period, in line with its guidance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Dropping my bag at the door, I cross the kitchen to take it from its place in the window.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Can they finally afford to splurge in their golden years?
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
The planned terms, which Meta has since put on hold, could allow the company to collect content from the websites of publishers without offering them a choice about if or how their content is used.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
In Thursday’s Macro Voices podcast, he noted that if AI displaces workers and reduces their earning power, then the outstanding debt still needs to be serviced.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
Businesses have had to make their plans amid a murky economic outlook.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
She thinks of the people at the Tala Leprosarium in Novaliches, who don’t have beds of their own, or even clean water.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
And keep in mind that influencers have an easier time getting into restaurants with impossible-to-get reservations than people like us do, so our experience wouldn’t be similar to theirs, anyways.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026
They know the house is not theirs, but they built it, bro.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
“No mayor has retained the same police commissioner from the administration prior to theirs since 1964,” she said, referring to Tisch, who was elevated under the previous mayor, Eric Adams.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
"We can't live together. Our lives and theirs are completely different; we're not compatible," Cohen said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
His mother was able to kick in $20,000 from her settlement, his three brothers kicked in $10,000 each of theirs.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
