he

¹

[hee, ee]

pronoun

nominative

he ,

possessive

his ,

objective

him ,

plural-nominative

they ,

possessive

their, theirs ,

objective

them .

1. the male person or animal being discussed or last mentioned; that male.

2. anyone (without reference to gender); that person.

   He who hesitates is lost.

noun

plural

hes 

1. any male person or animal; a man.

   hes and shes.

adjective

1. male (usually used in combination).

   a he-goat.

he

²

Or heh

[hey]

noun

1. the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

2. any of the sounds represented by this letter.

He

³

Symbol, Chemistry.

1. helium.

HE

⁴

Or H.E.

1. high explosive.

H.E.

⁵

abbreviation

1. high explosive. Also HE

2. His Eminence.

3. His Excellency; Her Excellency.

he

¹

/ iː, hiː /

pronoun

1. refers to a male person or animal

   he looks interesting

   he's a fine stallion

2. refers to an indefinite antecedent such as one, whoever, or anybody

   everybody can do as he likes in this country

3. refers to a person or animal of unknown or unspecified sex

   a member of the party may vote as he sees fit

noun

1. 1. a male person or animal

   2. ( in combination )

      he-goat

2. 1. a children's game in which one player chases the others in an attempt to touch one of them, who then becomes the chaser Compare tag 2

   2. the person chasing Compare it 1

HE

²

abbreviation

1. high explosive

2. His Eminence

3. His ( or Her) Excellency

He

³

symbol

1. helium

he

⁴

/ he, heɪ /

noun

1. the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet (ה), transliterated as h

he

⁵

/ hiː, heɪ /

interjection

1. Also: he-he!.  hee-hee!. an expression of amusement or derision

Grammar Note

Traditionally, the masculine singular pronouns he, his, and him have been used generically to refer to indefinite pronouns like anyone, everyone, and someone ( Everyone who agrees should raise his right hand ) and to singular nouns that can be applied to either gender ( painter, parent, person, teacher, writer, etc.): Every writer knows that his first book is not likely to be a bestseller. This generic use is often criticized as sexist, although many speakers and writers continue the practice. Those who object to the generic use of he have developed various ways of avoiding it. One is to use he/she or she/he (or he or she or she or he ) or the appropriate case forms of these pairs: Everyone who agrees should raise his or her (or her or his or his/her or her/his ) right hand. Forms blending the feminine and masculine pronouns, as s/he, have not been widely adopted, probably because of confusion over how to say them. Another solution is to change the antecedent pronoun or noun from singular to plural so that the plural pronouns they, their, and them can be used: All who agree should raise their right hands. All writers know that their first books are not likely to be bestsellers. See also they .

Word History and Origins

Origin of he¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English hē; cognate with Dutch hij, Old Saxon hē, Old High German her; her , here ( def. ), it ¹

Origin of he²

From Hebrew hē; cognate with Arabic hāʾ hā ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of he¹

Old English hē; related to Old Saxon hie, Old High German her he, Old Slavonic sĭ this, Latin cis on this side

Example Sentences

Police said Cutler smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot eyes and slurred his words.

From Los Angeles Times

Like Peer Gynt in search of a greater truth, Oliphant willingly pitted himself against larger-than-life beasts and lived to tell the tale.

From Salon

Judges said his work had "a deceptive simplicity" and was a "brave risk-taking painting" with "nuanced humour".

From BBC

Roles have also been shuffled elsewhere in the cabinet, with Steve Reed replacing Rayner as housing secretary, moving from his previous post as environment secretary.

From BBC

He had previously visited Flushing Meadows on several occasions before being joined by wife Melania on his last visit a decade ago.

From BBC

Related Words

• I 
• it 
• she 
• sie www.thesaurus.com
• they 
• ve 
• xe 
• you 
• ze 
• zie www.thesaurus.com