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person

Syllabification: (per·son)
Pronunciation: /ˈpərsən/
Translate person | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of person

noun (plural people /ˈpēpəl/ or persons)

  • 1a human being regarded as an individual:the porter was the last person to see her she is a person of astonishing energy
  • used in legal or formal contexts to refer to an unspecified individual:the entrance fee is $10.00 per person
  • [in singular with modifier] an individual characterized by a preference or liking for a specified thing:she’s not a cat person
  • an individual’s body:I have publicity photographs on my person at all times
  • a character in a play or story:his previous roles in the person of a fallible cop
  • 2 Grammar a category used in the classification of pronouns, possessive determiners, and verb forms, according to whether they indicate the speaker (first person), the addressee (second person), or a third party (third person).
  • 3 Christian Theology each of the three modes of being of God, namely the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit, who together constitute the Trinity.

Phrases

be one's own person

do or be what one wishes or in accordance with one’s own character rather than as influenced by others.

in person

with the personal presence or action of the individual specified:he had to pick up his welfare check in person

in the person of

in the physical form of:trouble arrived in the person of a short, mustached Berliner

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French persone, from Latin persona 'actor's mask, character in a play', later 'human being'

The words people and persons can both be used as the plural of person, but they are not used in exactly the same way. People is by far the more common of the two words and is used in most ordinary contexts: a group of people; there were only about ten people; several thousand people have been rehoused. Persons, on the other hand, tends now to be restricted to official or formal contexts, as in this vehicle is authorized to carry twenty persons; no persons admitted without a pass. In some contexts, persons, by pointing to the individual, may sound less friendly than people: the number should not be disclosed to any unauthorized persons.

person in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of person in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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