item

[noun, verb ahy-tuhm; adverb ahy-tem]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR item ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a separate article or particular: 50 items on the list.

a separate piece of information or news, as a short piece in a newspaper or broadcast.

Slang. something suitable for a news paragraph or as a topic of gossip, especially something that is sensational or scandalous: The bandleader and the new female singer are an item.

a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter I.

an admonition or warning.

Older Use. an intimation or hint.

adverb

also; likewise (used especially to introduce each article or statement in a list or series).

verb (used with object) Archaic.

to set down or enter as an item, or by or in items.

to make a note of.

Origin of item

1350–1400; Middle English: likewise (adv.), the same (noun) < Latin: likewise

Related formssub·i·tem, noun

Synonyms for item

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR item ON THESAURUS.COM

1. thing; heading, entry.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for item

information, component, feature, element, thing, piece, point, dispatch, aspect, news, minutia, story, matter, scrap, novelty, detail, note, blurb, notice, particular

Examples from the Web for item

Contemporary Examples of item

The item on federal prisoners was disturbing in a different way.
The GOP’s Hidden Ban on Prison Abortions
Harold Pollack
December 13, 2014
“They are very friendly and curious,” The Evening Independent wrote in 1979 in an item emphasizing their popularity and cuteness.
Lovable ‘Madagascar’ Penguins Are Known to Rape and Torture in Real Life
Asawin Suebsaeng
November 26, 2014
He could surmise one item in keeping with young women of Somali heritage.
How ISIS’s Colorado Girls Were Caught
Michael Daly
October 22, 2014
There is no blood on this shirt nor has this item been altered in any way.
Who Designed Urban Outfitters's Bloody Kent State Shirt? They Won't Say
Asawin Suebsaeng
September 15, 2014
This item is beyond poor taste and trivializes a loss of life that still hurts the Kent State community today.
Who Designed Urban Outfitters's Bloody Kent State Shirt? They Won't Say
Asawin Suebsaeng
September 15, 2014

Historical Examples of item

Item, the clyster repeated in the evening, as above, thirty sous.
The Imaginary Invalid
Molire
I thanked him for the item, resolving to add it to my list of curious Americanisms.
Ruggles of Red Gap
Harry Leon Wilson
And I did not feel it essential to my regard for him to know every item of his past.
The First Violin
Jessie Fothergill
Tall Clemence made a dirty remark about every item that she touched.
L'Assommoir
Emile Zola
He had two carts laden with luggage—one item, a green parrot in a cage.
Things as They Are
Amy Wilson-Carmichael

British Dictionary definitions for item

item

noun (ˈaɪtəm)

a thing or unit, esp included in a list or collection

accounting an entry in an account

a piece of information, detail, or notea news item

informal two people having a romantic or sexual relationship

verb (ˈaɪtəm)

(tr) an archaic word for itemize

adverb (ˈaɪtɛm)

likewise; also

Word Origin for item

C14 (adv) from Latin: in like manner

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for item

late 14c. (adv.) "moreover, in addition," from Latin item (adv.) "likewise, just so, moreover," used to introduce a new fact or statement, probably from ita "thus," id "it" (see id) + adverbial ending -tem (cf. idem "the same"). Thus "a statement or maxim" (of the kind formerly introduced by the word item), first recorded 1560s. Meaning "detail of information" (especially in a newspaper) is from 1819; item "sexually linked unmarried couple" is 1970, probably from notion of being an item in the gossip columns. Noun sense of "an article of any kind" (1570s) developed from adverbial sense of "moreover, in addition," which was used before every article in a list (such as an inventory or bill).