Definitions for they
ðeɪthey

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.6 / 5 votes

1. theypronoun

   those (used for people)

2. theypronoun

   A group of people or objects previously mentioned.

3. theypronoun

   A single person, previously mentioned, but of unknown or irrelevant gender.

4. theypronoun

   People; some people; someone, excluding the speaker.

5. Etymology: borrowed from þeir—nominative plural masculine of the demonstrative, which acted in Old Norse as a plural pronoun—from þai, from to-. Gradually replaced Old English hi and hie.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Theynoun

   in the oblique case them, the plural of he or she.

   Etymology: ði , Saxon.

   1. The men; the women; the persons.

   They are in a most warlike preparation. William Shakespeare, Coriolanus.

   Why do you keep alone?
   Of sorriest fancies your companions making,
   Using those thoughts, which should indeed have died
   With them they think on. William Shakespeare, Macbeth.

   The Spaniard
   Must now confess, if they have any goodness,
   The trial just and noble. William Shakespeare.

   They eat on beds of silk and gold,
   At ivory tables, or wood sold
   Dearer than it. Ben Jonson, Cataline.

   They know
   To joy the friend and grapple with the foe. Matthew Prior.

   2. Those men; those women: opposed to some others.

   Only they,
   That come to hear a merry play,
   Will be deceiv’d. William Shakespeare, Henry VIII.

   ’Tis remarkable, that they
   Talk most who have the least to say. Matthew Prior.

   3. It is used indefinitely; as the French on dit.

   There, as they say, perpetual night is found
   In silence brooding on th’ unhappy ground. Dryden.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. They

   In Modern English, they is a third-person pronoun relating to a grammatical subject.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. They

   "They" is a pronoun used to refer to multiple individuals or objects that are not specifically identified or named. It is a third-person plural pronoun and can be used to replace a noun when the speaker or writer wants to avoid repeating the noun or does not have specific details about the subject.

2. they

   "They" is a pronoun used to refer to a group of individuals or multiple people as the subject of a sentence. It is a gender-neutral pronoun and is used when the gender of the individuals being referred to is unspecified or when referring to entities or objects.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:4.0 / 1 vote

1. They

   the plural of he, she, or it. They is never used adjectively, but always as a pronoun proper, and sometimes refers to persons without an antecedent expressed

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. They

   They is a horror film directed by Robert Harmon that was released in 2002. The plot centers on the phenomenon of night terrors and their impact on the lives of adults who experienced them as children.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:2.0 / 1 vote

1. They

   thā, pers. pron., pl. of he, she, or it. [The form thei, tha, that came into use in the north of England in the 13th cent., replacing the older hi, heo. It is the A.S. þá, nom. pl. of the definite article, prob. modified by Scandinavian influence.]

Editors ContributionRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. they

   A group of people.

   The people loved to work together united in their love of humanity for the benefit of all.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on February 15, 2020  

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'they' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #32

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'they' in Written Corpus Frequency: #16

Anagrams for they »

1. hyte

2. yeth

How to pronounce they?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say they in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of they in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of they in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of they in a Sentence

1. Simon Clegg:

   (When) they put their country on display, they put their own sort of personal clout and power on display.

2. Carey Wong:

   The market will probably still need some time. We will want to see the company's performance for at least two more quarters, to see how they keep up the standard.

3. Jeff Sessions:

   We shouldn't automatically assume the economy is going to go south just because the houses are controlled by different parties, when you have houses controlled by different parties they actually have to compromise a bit if they're going to get anything done, and this tends to sometimes be positive.

4. Clare Bronfman:

   I’m happy to see that justice is going to be served and for the victims of Allison Mack they will have their chance to face their abuser, i am waiting for Nancy Salzman to be sentenced. She should have gone to prison along with Keith and Claire [Bronfman], and in my opinion she should get the same amount of time as her Vanguard, life. He truly would have never been able to do what he did without Nancy Salzman and her ‘NLP skills.' She knew what he was from day one, and he knew what she was, evil just like him.

5. James Learmont:

   They've finished with us and they've gone straight into the fight in Ramadi, they will finish here and they'll go into the frontlines. One could classify that as on-the-job training.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/They
2. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=they
3. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/they
6. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=they
7. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=they