Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

second person

American  
[sek-uhnd pur-suhn] / ˈsɛk ənd ˈpɜr sən /

noun

  1. the grammatical person used by the speaker of an utterance in referring to the one second person singular or ones second person plural being spoken to.

  2. a pronoun or verb form in the second person, as the pronoun you in English, or a set of such forms.


second person British  

noun

  1. a grammatical category of pronouns and verbs used when referring to or describing the individual or individuals being addressed

"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

Etymology

Origin of second person

First recorded in 1665–75

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:

He was accompanied by a second person, who took flight when officers arrived to arrest the pair.

From Barron's Mar. 28, 2026

Officers also found a second person inside who did not live at the home, according to police.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 18, 2026

The second person who died was a student at the University of Kent.

From BBC Mar. 16, 2026

On Nov. 13, Binance suspended the main investigator on Blessed and a second person, the head of sanctions and counterterrorist financing investigations, and fired them in the following weeks.

From The Wall Street Journal Feb. 23, 2026

“You’re going to help me with something. I see that look. Don’t worry—it’s just a project needs a second person, that’s all. But I’m not ready to tell you what it is yet.”

From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training