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British

she

[ shee ]

/ ʃi /

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See synonyms for: she / hers / her / shes on Thesaurus.com

pronoun, singular nominative she,possessive her or hers,objective her;plural nominative they,possessive their or theirs,objective them.

the female person or animal being discussed or last mentioned; that female.

the woman: She who listens learns.

anything considered, as by personification, to be feminine: spring, with all the memories she conjures up.

noun, plural shes.

a female person or animal.

an object or device considered as female or feminine.

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How To Use Personal Pronouns

It's totally cool if someone doesn't identify as a he or a she and wants to be a they. If you really want to be an ally, consider asking what pronoun someone prefers.

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Origin of she

1125–75; Middle English, alteration of Old English sēo, sīo, sīe, feminine of sethe¹; replacing Old English hēo, hīo, feminine personal pronoun; see he¹, her

usage note for she

See he¹, me, they.

Words nearby she

Shaytan, shazam, Shazar, Shcheglovsk, Shcherbakov, she, shea, shea butter, sheading, sheaf, shealing

Other definitions for she (2 of 2)

s/he

[ shee-er-hee, shee-hee ]

/ ˈʃi ərˈhi, ˈʃiˈhi /

pronoun

she or he: used as an orthographic device to avoid he when the sex of the antecedent is unknown or irrelevant.

Compare she/he.

usage note for s/he

See he¹.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use she in a sentence

And without physical evidence, cases often come down to “he said/she said.”
No Wonder Cosby's Keeping Quiet: He Could Still Be Prosecuted|Jay Michaelson|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They would later be dubbed a “bloodthirsty” “lesbian she-wolf pack” and—most famously—“a seething, Sapphic septet.”
‘Out in the Night’ and the Redemption of the ‘Killer Lesbian Gang'|Nina Strochlic|June 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This is just one voter out of many, naturally, but he/she has enough to say for an army.
A Tony Voter on Bryan Cranston’s Overrated LBJ, Neil Patrick Harris’s Underwhelming Hedwig|Michael Musto|June 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
No he-said-she-said, no muffled sounds through the dorm ceiling, no “Maybe he has other issues.”
Your Princess Is in Another Castle: Misogyny, Entitlement, and Nerds|Arthur Chu|May 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

On the term “she-male,” GLAAD has issued similar condemnations.
RuPaul’s ‘She-Mail’ Exits Drag Race|Parker Molloy|April 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sometimes far up in the hills a she-fox would bark, or some too-aged tree of the forest would come down with a booming crash.
Love's Pilgrimage|Upton Sinclair
She was very angry with Crozier, for it was absurd, that look of deprecating homage, that "Hush-she-is-coming" in his eyes.
You Never Know Your Luck, Complete|Gilbert Parker
The males have nearly an equal vehement desire for the female mule, the she-ass, and the mare.
Buffon's Natural History. Volume IX (of 10)|Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
A too strong ardour is often attended with sterility; and the female mule is at least as ardent as the she-ass.
Buffon's Natural History. Volume IX (of 10)|Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
The he and she-ass, therefore, both incline to sterility by common and also by different qualities.
Buffon's Natural History. Volume IX (of 10)|Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon

British Dictionary definitions for she

she

/ (ʃiː) /

pronoun (subjective)

refers to a female person or animalshe is a doctor; she's a fine mare

refers to things personified as feminine, such as cars, ships, and nations

Australian and NZ an informal word for it 1 (def. 3) she's apples; she'll be right

noun

a female person or animal
(in combination)she-cat

Word Origin for she

Old English sīe, accusative of sēo, feminine demonstrative pronoun

undefined she

See me 1

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