second person

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Definition of second person

noun

the grammatical person used by the speaker of an utterance in referring to the one (second person singular ) or ones (second person plural ) to whom he or she is speaking.

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

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Origin of second person

First recorded in 1665–75

Words nearby second person

second name, second nature, secondo, second of arc, second papers, second person, second position, second quantum number, second-rate, Second Reader, second reading

How to use second person in a sentence

Gunshots rang out in Paris this morning on a second day of deadly violence that has stunned the French capital.
France Mourns—and Hunts|Nico Hines, Christopher Dickey|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“I found him to to be an interesting person,” Krauss said of the first impression.
Sleazy Billionaire’s Double Life Featured Beach Parties With Stephen Hawking|M.L. Nestel|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
A Wall Street person should not be allowed to help oversee the Dodd-Frank reforms.
Antonio Weiss Is Not Part of the Problem|Steve Rattner|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
What I had “on the girls” were some remarkably brave first-person accounts.
I Tried to Warn You About Sleazy Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2003|Vicky Ward|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Scalise never would have spoken to EURO had Duke been there in person.
The Price of Steve Scalise’s Silence|Jason Berry|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In treble, second and fourth, the first change is a dodge behind; and the second time the treble leads, there's a double Bob.
Tintinnalogia, or, the Art of Ringing|Richard Duckworth and Fabian Stedman
Woman is mistress of the art of completely embittering the life of the person on whom she depends.
Pearls of Thought|Maturin M. Ballou
On his head was the second-hand hat of some parvenu's coachman, gold lace, cockade and all.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
The beauty, the mystery,—this fierce sunshine or something—stir——' She hesitated for a fraction of a second.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
But if what I told him were true, he was still at a loss how a kingdom could run out of its estate like a private person.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift

British Dictionary definitions for second person

second person

noun

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