they
Americanpronoun
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them,
objective
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their,
possessive
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theirs
possessive
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nominative plural of he, she, and it.
He needed a ride, and she had her car, so they left together.
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people in general.
They say he's rich.
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nominative singular pronoun.
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(used to refer to a generic or unspecified person previously mentioned, about to be mentioned, or present in the immediate context): A person may enlist only if they are over 18.
Whoever is of voting age, whether they are interested in politics or not, should vote.
A person may enlist only if they are over 18.
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(used to refer to a specific or known person previously mentioned, about to be mentioned, or present in the immediate context): My best friend from high school is famous now—too bad we didn’t stay in touch after they moved to California.
The victim refused to testify at the trial because they feared for their life.
My best friend from high school is famous now—too bad we didn’t stay in touch after they moved to California.
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(used to refer to a nonbinary or gender-nonconforming person previously mentioned, about to be mentioned, or present in the immediate context).
Quinn is waiting for summer vacation to adopt a puppy, so they will have more time to get their new family member properly settled.
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pronoun
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refers to people or things other than the speaker or people addressed
they fight among themselves
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refers to unspecified people or people in general not including the speaker or people addressed
in Australia they have Christmas in the summer
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not_standard refers to an indefinite antecedent such as one, whoever, or anybody
if anyone objects, they can go
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an archaic word for those
blessed are they that mourn
Grammar
Traditional grammars have limited the use of they to refer only to a plural antecedent. These grammars recommended using the singular masculine he as if it were generic, referring to a man, woman, or humanity universally: Each person should bring his own lunch. Later, when generic he was criticized as sexist, he or she began to be used in its place. But in spite of its prescriptive prohibition, the pronoun they is also used to refer to a single person in three distinct ways. The oldest type, and the one most accepted by style guides, is when they refers to a generic, unspecified individual, or to a person whose gender and other personal details are unknown or irrelevant. Generic and singular indefinite they and related case forms their and them are found in respected works, from Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors (There's not a man I meet but doth salute me/As if I were their well-acquainted friend) to Lewis Carroll’s Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (If everybody minded their own business … the world would go round a deal faster than it does), as well as in the writing of authors like Shelley, Swift, Scott, Dickens, and Austen. Singular they is also used as a pronoun for a known, specified person, particularly when the individual is named with a job title or other noun phrase, instead of a proper name: My teacher had their car stolen. This specific singular they looks similar to the generic singular they, but is somewhat less acceptable in conservatively edited English. Nonbinary singular use of they, their, and them has become widely accepted in the 21st century. It has become much more common for people in general to announce which pronoun they use or to ask what pronoun another person uses. Some people, especially nonbinary, genderqueer, and gender-nonconforming people, don't like being referred to with either the traditionally masculine he or the feminine she. In those cases, nonbinary singular they is used as one alternative: When Tyler was applying to college, they indicated their intended major on the application. In addition to he, she, and singular they, there are also gender-neutral neopronouns like ze used for this purpose. Singular they can also be used when a person’s pronouns aren’t known, or to avoid assigning gender, and some style guides have been recommending this usage since the mid-2010s. And although they may be used as a singular pronoun, they still takes a plural verb, analogous to the use of "you are" to refer to one person: The student brought in a note to show why they were absent. See also he 1.
Usage
It was formerly considered correct to use he, him, or his after pronouns such as everyone, no-one, anyone, or someone as in everyone did his best, but it is now more common to use they, them, or their, and this use has become acceptable in all but the most formal contexts: everyone did their best
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of they
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English thei, they, from Old Norse their “they”; replacing Old English hī(e); cognate with Old English thā, plural of thæt; see that
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:
She was at her best with the women of Trio, a supergroup with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, and this regal single of nascent, unrequited commitment is as lovely as they come.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
That procedure, they argued, would result in “Christa involuntarily reliving the worst moments of her life, much like traumatized soldiers when they return from a war zone.”
From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026
Tax courts are now full of cases where younger taxpayers are fighting IRS decisions related to the money they made creating content online, according to Sami’s lead lawyer, Frank Agostino.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Venture capitalists lose money on most of what they fund, and nobody calls a failed startup a scandal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
People are afraid of the number thirteen; they think it’s unlucky.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
One of them was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole, and the other was paroled after cooperating with investigators.
From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026
Likewise, Moll said he has them consider whether the expense is something another content creator in their shoes would do as well.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
“It looks like Paramount reached out to them and offered them something,” Bonta said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
And looking back on individual albums, maybe 10 to 20 years later, I want them to consist of all the good memories that we’ve shared together, and I feel like that would be the legacy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
Instead they must look for unusual cases that might back them up.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
They are here to discuss their seventh studio album, “Blingy,” released Monday, that sees the five members continuing their reputation for experimental hip-hop.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
The United States rarely executes women, no matter how gruesome their crimes.
From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026
Shaw scored 21 goals in 22 appearances as Man City clinched their second WSL title.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
Likewise, Moll said he has them consider whether the expense is something another content creator in their shoes would do as well.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Yet their wrong theories—and Phineas himself—will steer our knowledge of the brain in the right direction.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
They likely won’t be too pleased if Nvidia also uses its chips to create and deploy cheaper open-weight models that compete with theirs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
“My whole thing is: When you use generative AI to come up with ideas, people forget what ideas were theirs and what ideas were the computer’s,” he says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
Perhaps to their point, you aren’t burdened by your own children — don’t allow yourself to be burdened by theirs.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
Helen Richardson-Walsh knew Olympic gold was theirs while observing the Dutch players' behaviour in the tunnel before the game.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
The rubakha that day was particularly nice, even though it was much shorter than most men wore theirs, made of undyed linen with red embroidery around the sleeve cuffs and neck.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
