person
noun
Simple meaning
A human body.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
pursuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpɝsən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
An individual who has been granted personhood; usually a human being.
“There was too much for one person to do.”
A human body (usually including the clothing)
“A weapon was hidden on his person.”
A character or part, as in a play; a specific kind or manifestation of individual character, whether in real life, or in literary or dramatic representation; an assumed character.
in a compound noun or noun phrase
A human of unspecified gender (in terms usually constructed with man or woman).
in a compound noun or noun phrase
Someone who likes or has an affinity for (a specified thing).
The physical body of a being seen as distinct from the mind, character, etc.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: An individual who has been granted personhood; usually a human being.
Used this way, person is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“There was too much for one person to do.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “person to …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Nearby words
- individual , a specialist term, precise but narrower
Natural pattern: person to …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Humannoun
“A weapon was hidden on his person.”
Individualnoun
“There was too much for one person to do.”
More ways to use person
- “There was too much for one person to do.”noun
- “A weapon was hidden on his person.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Concerning or affecting a particular person or his or her private life and personality.
As yourself.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Agreement in person between pronouns and verbs.
A time unit used in industry for measuring work.
Any non-European non-white person.
Any non-European non-white person.
In direct encounter.
A person with a severe visual impairment.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
A small digital computer based on a microprocessor and designed to be used by one person at a time.
A pronoun expressing a distinction of person.
A relation between persons.
A relation between persons.
A person who manages the affairs of another.
A questionnaire that is supposed to yield a description of a person's personality traits.
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.