she

¹

[ shee ]

pronoun

possessive: her or herssingular nominative: shepossessive: their or theirsobjective: themplural nominative: theyobjective: her

1. the female person or animal being discussed or last mentioned; that female.
2. the woman:

   She who listens learns.

3. anything considered, as by personification, to be feminine:

   spring, with all the memories she conjures up.

noun

, plural shes.

1. a female person or animal.
2. an object or device considered as female or feminine.

s/he

²

[ shee-er-hee, shee-hee ]

pronoun

1. she or he: used as an orthographic device to avoid a gender-specific pronoun when the gender of the antecedent is unknown or irrelevant.

she

/ ʃiː /

pronoun

1. refers to a female person or animal

   she is a doctor

   she's a fine mare

2. refers to things personified as feminine, such as cars, ships, and nations
3. an informal word for it 1

   she's apples

   she'll be right

noun

1. 1. a female person or animal
   2. ( in combination )

      she-cat

Usage

See me 1

Gender Note

See he ¹, me, they.

Word History and Origins

Origin of she¹

1125–75; Middle English, alteration of Old English sēo, sīo, sīe, feminine of se the ¹; replacing Old English hēo, hīo, feminine personal pronoun; he ¹, her

Word History and Origins

Origin of she¹

Old English sīe, accusative of sēo, feminine demonstrative pronoun

Example Sentences

“Everyone knows these flavors are particularly dangerous in terms of kids starting the use of smoking product,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times

After hearing the story, the 40-year-old Madrigal wondered out loud to her husband: Was she one of those women?

From Los Angeles Times

Before going into labor, however, Madrigal shooed off a wave of nurses who asked if she wanted to have her fallopian tubes tied.

From Los Angeles Times

She finally signed a form in the haze of her pre-labor pains, then quickly forgot about it.

From Los Angeles Times

She and her husband had dreams of a large family.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• he
• I
• it
• sie
• they
• ve
• xe
• you
• ze
• zie