they've
Americancontraction
Usage
See contraction.
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.
Buybacks aren’t inherently bad; they’ve been phenomenally accretive for shareholders who stayed the course.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 21, 2026
Patel’s defamation suit accuses The Atlantic of “actual malice,” a legal test that needs to be met for public officials to successfully prove they’ve been libeled.
From Salon • Apr. 20, 2026
Laundry bags around the room are proof they’ve been here for almost a week.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 20, 2026
Despite that, they've been a key part in heavier music breaking through into the mainstream - and last year headlined Reading and Leeds Festival.
From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026
I think it would be okay to sell Henrietta’s eggs, since they’ve been in the fridge, and since Great-Uncle Jim did used to sell them.
From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones
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.
