she

¹

[ shee ]

pronoun

possessive: her or herssingular nominative: shepossessive: their or theirsobjective: themplural nominative: theyobjective: her

1. the female person or animal being discussed or last mentioned; that female.
2. the woman:

   She who listens learns.

3. anything considered, as by personification, to be feminine:

   spring, with all the memories she conjures up.

noun

, plural shes.

1. a female person or animal.
2. an object or device considered as female or feminine.

s/he

²

[ shee-er-hee, shee-hee ]

pronoun

1. she or he: used as an orthographic device to avoid a gender-specific pronoun when the gender of the antecedent is unknown or irrelevant.

she

/ ʃiː /

pronoun

1. refers to a female person or animal

   she is a doctor

   she's a fine mare

2. refers to things personified as feminine, such as cars, ships, and nations
3. an informal word for it 1

   she's apples

   she'll be right

noun

1. 1. a female person or animal
   2. ( in combination )

      she-cat

Usage

See me 1

Gender Note

See he ¹, me, they.

Word History and Origins

Origin of she¹

1125–75; Middle English, alteration of Old English sēo, sīo, sīe, feminine of se the ¹; replacing Old English hēo, hīo, feminine personal pronoun; he ¹, her

Word History and Origins

Origin of she¹

Old English sīe, accusative of sēo, feminine demonstrative pronoun

Example Sentences

As her group stood by juggling their parcels, I asked if she had any tips for people doing their own wedding flowers.

From Los Angeles Times

She’d already ordered her vases online, and she wasn’t willing to spend the thousands of dollars she’d been quoted to have someone else prepare all the flowers for the wedding and reception with 28 guests.

From Los Angeles Times

Marriott had a bucket station in her sister’s basement, where she immediately put her flowers after getting home from the market.

From Los Angeles Times

She had four people in tow — her fiancé, David Cohen, along with her mom, sister and future sister-in-law — to help carry all the flowers she was purchasing for their small wedding at Pasadena City Hall the next day.

From Los Angeles Times

She’s been visiting the flower market for years, and had previously made arrangements for family events and bridal showers.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• he
• I
• it
• sie
• they
• ve
• xe
• you
• ze
• zie