them
nounEtymology From Middle English þem, from Old Norse þeim.
1
Derogatory, Offensive, Slang, Sometimes A non-binary person.
them
pron[ˈðʌm] · [ˈðɪm]
Etymology From Middle English þem, from Old Norse þeim.
11 senses
- 1Used as the direct object of a verb.
- 2Used as the indirect object of a verb.
- 3Used as the object of a preposition.
- 4As a grammatical subject or object when joined with a…
- 5Used in isolation or apposition, or (sometimes…
- 6Used as the direct object of a verb.
- 7Used as the indirect object of a verb.
- 8Used as the object of a preposition.
- 9As a grammatical subject or object when joined with a…
- 10Used in isolation or apposition, or (sometimes…
- 11They or those.
› Those ones.
1
In plural, Personal, Pronoun, Third person Used as the direct object of a verb.
- She treated them for a cold.
- Proponents of adding a gender-neutral option to state identification documents say it would remove a form of discrimination against nonbinary people by providing them with the means to carry identification that matches their identity.2019 May 29, Amy Harmon, “Which Box Do You Check? Some States Are Offering a Nonbinary Option”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 08 Jun 2019:
2
In plural, Personal, Pronoun, Third person Used as the indirect object of a verb.
- She wrote them a letter.
3
In plural, Personal, Pronoun, Third person Used as the object of a preposition.
- Give it to them.
4
Colloquial, In plural, Nonstandard, Personal, Pronoun, Third person, Uncommon As a grammatical subject or object when joined with a conjunction.
- [...] and now them and the Goo Goo Dolls are playing together.
- […]Illinois, told Christina Holmes Tillson (just arrived from Connecticut herself) : “I am getting skeery about them 'ere Yankees. There is such a power of them coming in that them and the Injuns will squatch out [everyone else].2006 September 27, David Ress, Governor Edward Coles and the Vote to Forbid Slavery in Illinois, 1823-1824, McFarland, →ISBN, page 64:
1 more example
- Them and the boys went to live with Auntie Madge and Uncle Herbie when Miss Violet died.2021 June 10, Yvonne Bailey-Smith, The Day I Fell Off My Island, Myriad Editions, →ISBN:
5
In plural, Personal, Pronoun, Third person Used in isolation or apposition, or (sometimes proscribed) as the complement of the copula (be).
- Who was there? —Them.
- Who did this? —Them. They did it. (or:) It was them. They did it.)
1 more example
- Who did that? —(It was) not them: I was watching them the whole time.
› A single person, previously mentioned, whose…
6
Personal, Pronoun, Third person Used as the direct object of a verb.
Occasionally proscribed
- If a student has an inappropriate question, whatever you do, do not berate them.
- If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the Lord thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the Lord thy God, […] [t]hen shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Deuteronomy 17:2–5:
2 more examples
- Place the casualty on their back with feet and legs raised—this is called the shock position. [emphasis in original] Once the casualty is positioned, cover them to preserve body heat, but do not overheat.2006, St. John Ambulance, First on the Scene: Student Reference Guide, →ISBN, Lesson 2, page 3:
- Someone in the crowd around the lifts called sycophantically, ‘Morning, Yaxley!’ Yaxley ignored them.2007, J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, London: Bloomsbury, 2008, →ISBN, page 270:
7
Personal, Pronoun, Third person Used as the indirect object of a verb.
Occasionally proscribed
- If one of my patients calls, please bring them their dinner.
8
Personal, Pronoun, Third person Used as the object of a preposition.
Occasionally proscribed
- If someone comes and asks for the ticket, just give it to them.
- Each adolescent girl with ASD has needs specific to her because each of them has variable characteristics and different degrees of sensory and perceptual difficulties.2024 July 2, Rukiye Arslan, Derya Yanık, Raziye Pekşen Akça, “Investigation of Menstrual Hygiene and Self-Care Skills of Adolescent Girls with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Mother Views”, in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, →DOI:
9
Colloquial, Nonstandard, Personal, Pronoun, Third person, Uncommon As a grammatical subject or object when joined with a conjunction.
Occasionally proscribed
- "[…] he said that everybody was being watched, and if they seen anybody giving Union cards to anybody on Company property, that them and the person receiving the card, they would both be fired.1969, United States. National Labor Relations Board, Decisions and Orders of the National Labor Relations Board, page 82:
10
Personal, Pronoun, Third person Used in isolation or apposition, or (sometimes proscribed) as the complement of the copula (be).
Occasionally proscribed
- Who was there? —Them.
- Who did this? —Them. They did it. (or:) It was them. They did it.)
1 more example
- Who did that? —(It was) not them: I was watching them the whole time.
11
Dialectal, Personal, Pronoun, Third person They or those.
Informal set phrases
- I know it seems unfair, but them's the rules.
- And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.1611, King James Bible:
- Related terms
75 terms
boydem, gentlethem, how about them apples, how you get them is how you lose them, if you can't beat them, join them, if you can't lick them, join them, let them eat cake, mom and them, some mothers do have them, their, theirs, them all, thembo, themness, them ones, themself, themselves, them's the breaks, them's the facts, them's the rules, them there, they, us-and-them, us-and-them-ism, us versus them, with the best of them, Ime, me, myselfmemysen, mine, mymineme, we, us, ourselvesourselfoursen, oursourn, our, you, yourselfyoursen, yoursyourn, your, thou, thee, thyselftheeselfthysen, thine, thythine, youye, yourselves, you ally'all you guys yous, y'allselves, all yours y'all's you guys' your guys', all your y'all's your all's you guys' your guys', he, him, himselfhisselfhissen, hishisn, his, she, her, herselfhersen, hershern, ithit, itselfhitself, itshis, itshishits, one, oneself, –, one's, themhem, 'em, themselvestheirsen, theirstheirn, The following table shows a list of English personal pronoun, including archaic and dialectal forms. Dialectal and obsolete, archaic forms are in italics. 1 See Appendix:English third-person singular pronouns for attested neopronoun.