Definitions

it

[it] / ɪt /

Part of Speech:

All (3) Pronoun (2) Noun (1)

Jump To:

nominative singular pronoun pron.
objective singular pronoun pron.
sex appeal n.

PRONOUN

nominative singular pronoun

Synonyms

STRONGEST

I he she sie they ve xe you ze zie

PRONOUN

objective singular pronoun

Synonyms

WEAK

her him hir me them ver xem you zir

NOUN

sex appeal

Synonyms

STRONGEST

animal magnetism sex appeal

STRONG

attraction charisma charm

Frequently Asked Questions

What is another word for it?

The pronoun it is commonly used to refer to something without naming it. The plural pronoun they can be used to refer to multiple things in this way, as can the object form them. The word it is sometimes used to refer to an animal, and in some cases it can refer to an unknown person, such as when someone knocks on the door and you ask “Who is it?” (Otherwise, though, referring to a person as it for any reason is extremely offensive.) Most commonly, it is used to refer to things. Like the word thing, the word it is usually the one being used in place of a more specific word. But there are other general terms you can use instead. It can refer to anything—it can refer to physical objects or articles but also to nonphysical entities. The word item can be used for tangible things (as in That item is sold out) or intangible ones (as in Let’s save that item for the next agenda). The words this and that can be used in place of it when referring to something that’s near, understood, or previously mentioned or indicated. They can also be used for emphasis. For example, instead of asking “What is it?” about some unidentifiable thing, you could ask “What is that?” It is also very commonly used to introduce sentences that use a form of the verb be, especially statements about time (as in It’s five o’clock), distance (as in It is five miles away), or the weather (as in It was raining this morning). It is also commonly used in many similar constructions (such as in phrases like How’s it going? or Where does it hurt?). All of these can often be reworded to avoid using it, as in The time is five o’clock or There was rain this morning. However, constructions using it are often the most natural-sounding. It is also used in some more specific ways. In the children’s game of tag, the word it is used to refer to the person designated as the tagger, as in Tag, you’re it! When a person is said to have “it,” this means that they possess some unique characteristic (often charisma)—sometimes known as the it factor. A girl (or, more often, a woman) who is newly popular in a certain arena might be called the it girl, as in She’s the new it girl in fashion. When capitalized, IT is a common abbreviation for information technology, which is sometimes also shortened as infotech. Another name for the IT department is the tech department.

Is it a pronoun?

Yes, it is a pronoun. The singular subject (nominative) and object form are both it. However, the plural subject form is they and the plural object form is them. The possessive form is its.

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:

it they them its their theirs

As The Guardian put it, “people failed to update a database, and other people built a system fast enough to make that failure lethal.”

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026

Even small moves in rent can lift the overall headline figure as it makes up a large share of household spending.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

Weigh those cons against the things AI has reliably proven it can do – cheat on homework and write janky code – and it’s easy to understand Sanders’ urge to stand and yell “stop!”

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026

He had been due to view the eclipse from Cornwall but was sent to Alderney the day before and said "it was the most amazing experience of my life".

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

Eighteen million dollars’ worth of valuable oil are dumped into the Pasig River to keep it out of Japanese hands, but things quickly spin out of control and the oil catches on fire.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

They’ve managed all this even as their AI products have not proven they can reliably do any of the things OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg claim they can do.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026

While gasoline prices were down 2.9% in July compared to June, they were up 24.6% over the year.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

Eli Lilly is suing six pharmacies alleging that they are selling illegal versions of retatrutide, its still-experimental but highly anticipated weight-loss shot.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026

For much of July, improved optimism for a peace deal pulled down gasoline prices, although they have rebounded more recently.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Joey soon learns that her condition has been revealed and the doctor has contacted the authorities, which means they will be on their way to take her to a leprosarium.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Having beaten them in the 2025 Rugby World Cup final, it is difficult not to see the fixtures as anything other than a three-Test series and Mitchell thinks the prospect is "really cool".

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

The key to understanding CoreWeave isn’t simply its massive spending and investment, but the rules around accounting for them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

"After experiencing it there I've chased them around the world as much as I could in those decades since. It all began in Alderney."

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

Officials have for the past year forecast that inflation would return to their 2% goal without further rate increases, but more of them had changed their view in favor of raising rates.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

The Philippines has a lot of them, not just oil.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Once renovation works are completed, the arena is set to increase its capacity to between 40,000 and 44,000.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

“The company says it is seeing margins inflecting, demand strengthening and increased diversification of its customer base.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026

The Fed will have one more month of inflation data before its Sept. 15–16 policy meeting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

But the spokesperson stressed Kosovo would focus on enacting its deal with Denmark "before entering into any new agreement of a similar nature".

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

It offers no resistance, its roots tiny, pathetic.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Whipped up and given a sheen of analytic legitimacy by the Maven, military officials did not do their due diligence in the midst of hundreds of similar, simultaneous strikes.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026

But this week he told the BBC's Wake up to Money the announcements, aimed at tackling the cost of living, are not enough on their own, hinting at further support.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

But Szczurowski stressed that foreign investors’ and governments’ diversification of their bondholders didn’t necessarily threaten the dollar’s status as a reserve currency.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026

Merely mentioning the potential power of their models is enough to boost investment.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026

The Carmelites are cloistered—they do not leave their monasteries unless it’s essential.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

France has seen its worst fires in two decades, while officials in the Spanish capital Madrid say theirs are the worst the region has ever experienced.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

When Mountbatten-Windsor lost his titles, both princesses kept theirs, but neither is a working royal.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

Cardholders recently got collections notices for overdue balances that weren’t theirs, with their credit scores taking a hit as a result.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

What the note points out is that workers in highly exposed occupations are finding it harder to transition to other jobs once they have lost theirs.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

For weeks after each player made his debut, JonJon would talk nonstop about times he’d met each man, or games his team had played against theirs.

From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone

it

Frequently Asked Questions

Example Sentences

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