me

¹

[ mee ]

pronoun

1. the objective case of I, used as a direct or indirect object:

   They asked me to the party. Give me your hand.

2. Informal. (used instead of the pronoun I in the predicate after the verb to be ):

   It's me.

3. Informal. (used instead of the pronoun my before a gerund):

   Did you hear about me getting promoted?

adjective

1. of or involving an obsessive interest in one's own satisfaction:

   the me decade.

Me

²

abbreviation for

, Chemistry.

1. methyl.

ME

³

abbreviation for

1. Maine (approved especially for use with zip code).
2. Middle East.
3. Middle English ( def ). Also M.E.

Me.

⁴

abbreviation for

1. Maine.

M.E.

⁵

abbreviation for

1. (often lowercase) managing editor.
2. Master of Education.
3. Master of Engineering.
4. Mechanical Engineer.
5. medical examiner ( def ).
6. Methodist Episcopal.
7. Middle English ( def ).
8. Mining Engineer.

Me

¹

the chemical symbol for

1. the methyl group

me

²

the internet domain name for

1. Montenegro

Me.

³

abbreviation for

1. Maine

me

⁴

/ mɪ; miː /

pronoun

1. refers to the speaker or writer

   that shocks me

   he gave me the glass

2. when used an an indirect object a dialect word for myself

   I want to get me a car

noun

1. informal.
   the personality of the speaker or writer or something that expresses it

   the real me comes out when I'm happy

me

⁵

/ miː /

noun

1. a variant spelling of mi

ME

⁶

abbreviation for

1. Maine
2. Marine Engineer
3. Mechanical Engineer
4. Methodist Episcopal
5. Mining Engineer
6. Middle English
7. (in titles) Most Excellent
8. myalgic encephalopathy

Grammar Note

A traditional rule governing the case of personal pronouns after forms of the verb to be is that the nominative or subjective form ( I; she; he; we; they ) must be chosen. Some 400 years ago, owing to the feeling that the postverb position in a sentence is object rather than subject territory, me and other objective pronouns ( him; her; us; them ) began to replace the subjective forms after be, so that It is I became It is me. Today such constructions— It's me. That's him. It must be them. —are almost universal in speech, the context in which they usually occur. In formal speech or edited writing, the subjective forms are used: It was I who first noticed the problem. My brother was the one who called our attention to the problem, but it wasn't he who solved it. It had been she at the window, not her husband. Me and other objective forms have also replaced the subjective forms in speech in constructions like Me neither; Not us; Who, them? and in comparisons after as or than: She's no faster than him at getting the answers. When the pronoun is the subject of a verb that is expressed, the nominative forms are used: Neither did I. She's no faster than he is at getting the answers. than. When a verb form ending in -ing functions as a noun, it is traditionally called a gerund: Walking is good exercise. She enjoys reading biographies. Usage guides have long insisted that gerunds, being nouns, must be preceded by the possessive form of the pronouns or nouns ( my; your; her; his; its; our; their; child's; author's ) rather than by the objective forms ( me; you; him; her; it; us; them ): The landlord objected to my (not me ) having guests late at night. Several readers were delighted at the author's (not author ) taking a stand on the issue. In standard practice, however, both objective and possessive forms appear before gerunds. Possessives are more common in formal edited writing, but the occurrence of objective forms is increasing; in informal writing and speech objective forms are more common: Many objections have been raised to the government (or government's ) allowing lumbering in national parks. “Does anyone object to me (or my ) reading this report aloud?” the moderator asked.

Word History and Origins

Origin of me¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English me, Old English mē (dative and accusative singular); cognate with Dutch mij, Old High German mir; akin to Greek emé, Irish mé “I, me,” Latin mē, Russian menjá

Word History and Origins

Origin of me¹

Old English mē (dative); compare Dutch, German mir, Latin mē (accusative), mihi (dative)

Idioms and Phrases

see dear me ; so help me .