Showing results for "they"

nominative plural of he.
nominative plural of it.
nominative plural of she.

Definitions

they

[they] / ðeɪ /

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nominative plural pronoun pron.
nominative singular pronoun pron.

PRONOUN

nominative plural pronoun

Synonyms

STRONGEST

we you

PRONOUN

nominative singular pronoun

Synonyms

STRONGEST

I he it she sie ve xe you ze zie

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a synonym for they?

We don’t traditionally think of they as having synonyms, but there are several situations in which it can replace—or be replaced with—another word, phrase, or series of words. Plural people and things They is perhaps most commonly used as a plural pronoun referring to multiple people, as in Seven people made reservations, and they all showed up at the same time. It can also refer to multiple things, as in I moved the packages so they wouldn’t fall off the table. A singular person They also has a long history of being used to refer to an unspecified individual or to a person whose gender and other personal details are unknown or irrelevant, as in If a student is absent, they must bring in a note when they return to school. Sentences like this sometimes use constructions like he or she, but the use of they has become very common in such instances, with many people preferring they as less awkward and more inclusive. Nonbinary gender expression A use of they that has become more widespread is as a personal pronoun for those who identify as nonbinary or whose gender identity exists between or beyond the spectrum of strictly male or female. Grammatically, it’s used in the same way as the gender-specific terms like he and she, but it’s gender-neutral. You can learn more about this below. themselves In some cases, the word themselves is used as another way of saying they or another form of it. It’s sometimes used in place of they or them after the words as, than, and but, as in They saw girls no older than themselves. It can also be used as an emphatic form of they or them, as in They—the students themselves—wrote the lesson. Singular forms include themself or theirself.

What word can I use instead of they?

They is commonly used as a way to refer to people in general, as in They say that place is haunted. In cases like this, you could replace they with people or any number of similar terms. Or you could avoid using it by constructing the sentence in a more passive way, such as That place is said to be haunted.

What does it mean to use they/them pronouns?

When someone requests to be referred to with they/them pronouns, it means they don’t use the pronouns typically associated with male and female gender identities, like he/him and she/her. Such people may identify as nonbinary or in a number of other ways. Other forms of they are often used along with singular, nonbinary they and them, such as their and themself. How to use they/them pronouns Grammatically speaking, when they is used as a singular pronoun, it still takes a plural verb—are or were, as in They are my favorite person or Any employee who missed the training while they were on vacation still needs to complete it. We do the same thing when we use the singular you with are or were. Interpersonally speaking, the right way to use they/them pronouns is the way that the person you’re referring to prefers them to be used. In some cases, people use other gender-neutral pronouns, such as ze. Some people whose gender identity is fluid or encompasses multiple genders may use a mix of pronouns, such as she/they or they/he, among others.

What kind of pronoun is they?

They is a personal pronoun. It can be either singular or plural. Pronouns are used as substitutes for nouns—they’re another way of referring to a noun without using a specific name. Personal pronouns are used to refer to the one communicating, to the one being addressed, or the one being talked about. In terms of its grammatical function, they is a nominative pronoun, meaning that it’s generally used as the subject of a sentence—the one doing the action—as opposed to the object (the one on the receiving end of some action). The objective form of they is them, as in They asked me to drive them home. They is categorized as a third person pronoun (like he, she, him, her, and them), meaning that it’s used to refer to anyone other than the person doing the addressing or the ones being addressed. In contrast, first person pronouns (like I and me) refer to the speaker or writer themselves. Second person pronouns (you and its other forms) address the person being spoken to or reading. In literature, third-person point of view is a common form of narration in which the events of the story are told using the third person.

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:

they them their theirs

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

Messi captained Argentina as they won the World Cup in 2022 and led them to the 2026 World Cup final, which his side lost 1-0 to Spain, before returning to club side Inter Miami.

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

Wall Street was especially tuned to this inflation report because Fed officials signaled they were watching it more closely too.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

They smuggled shortwave radios into the hills so they could listen to overseas reports, which they would transcribe into their articles.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

The reporters said Israeli soldiers at the scene refused to help them when their car was blocked for two hours.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

Spotify said it will start labeling AI-generated artists and avoid promoting them in its algorithmic recommendations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Artists with the badge will not appear in users' personalised recommendations unless they already follow them, Spotify says.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

But it caused a stir in the U.S. a couple of seasons ago, when the Japanese professional Kyoya Fujita went on a tournament hot streak using them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Reaching around me, he places them inside the wagon.

From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

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

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

Spend enough years standing behind pyramids of hamburgers, posing at fry stations and inserting yourself into the iconography of American restaurant chains, and eventually the props begin to accrue meanings of their own.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026

When she ran away to marry Hans, for example, she’d had to escape the watchful eye of her father, sneak off on foot, and swim half a mile to their rendezvous point.

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

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 the Rams, there’s the Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium, which everyone believes should be theirs for the taking.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

So, since Emma was out of the room, and since nobody had labeled the jar as theirs, Jake popped open the top and gobbled down the jelly beans, one fistful at a time.

From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein

they

Frequently Asked Questions

Example Sentences

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