Meaning of person in English

person

noun [ C ]

/ˈpɜː.sən/ us

/ˈpɝː.sən/

plural people uk/ˈpiː.pəl/ us/ˈpiː.pəl/formal persons

person noun [C] (HUMAN)

Add to word list Add to word list

a man, woman, or child:

Who was the first person to swim the English Channel?

A meal at the restaurant costs about $70 for two people.

formal Four persons have been charged with the murder.

used when describing someone's character:

She's an extremely kind person.

He's nice enough as a person, but he's not the right man for this job.

informal I don't think of him as a book person (= a person who likes books).

in person

If you do something or go somewhere in person, you do it or go there yourself:

If you can't be there in person, the next best thing is watching it on TV.

More examplesFewer examples

She's sure to get the job she wants - she's a very determined person.
I don't know how it's possible for a person to disappear without trace.
The jury has to decide whether a person is guilty or innocent of a crime.
I think we've chosen the right person to lead the expedition.
Who's the most famous person you've ever interviewed on TV?

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

People in general

See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Mind and personality

person noun [C] (GRAMMAR)

language specialized

used in grammar to describe the verbs and pronouns that refer to the different people in a conversation. The first person ("I" or "we") refers to the person speaking, the second person ("you") refers to the person being spoken to and the third person ("he", "she", "it", or "they") refers to another person or thing being spoken about or described:

The novel is written in the first person, so that the author and narrator seem to be the same.

"Am" is the first person singular of the verb "to be".

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Linguistics: grammatical terms

See more results »

Grammar

Person, persons or people?

We use person in the singular to refer to any human being: …

Idioms

in the person of someone

on/about your person

-person

suffix

/ -pɜː.sən/ us

/ -pɝː.sən/

used to combine with nouns to form new nouns referring to the particular job or duty that someone has. It is often used instead of -man or -woman to avoid making an unnecessary statement about the gender of the particular person:

spokesperson

chairperson

business people

(Definition of person from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

person | American Dictionary

person

noun [ C ]

/ˈpɜr·sən/

plural people us/ˈpi·pəl/ persons

Add to word list Add to word list

a man, woman, or child:

Neil Armstrong was the first person to set foot on the moon.

The auditorium can seat about 500 people.

The plane crashed just after takeoff, killing all 29 persons aboard.

Person is also used when describing someone’s character or personality:

I don’t think of him as a book person (= someone who likes books).

She’s nice enough as a person, but she’s not right for the job.

Note:

In formal writing, the plural "persons" is sometimes preferred over "people," but "persons" is also used in news reports – At least 30 persons are dead or missing – and in the phrase "person or persons" when the number of people is not known – We expect to catch the person or persons responsible.

Idiom

in person

(Definition of person from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

person | Business English

person

noun [ C ]

/ˈpɜːsən/ us

persons

Add to word list Add to word list

LAW

→ legal person

Examples of person

person

The action takes place on almost the eve of the deaths of several persons near to each other in terms of spatial proximity or affection.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Despite these limitations, we believe the present study results may be generalized to persons with moderate to severe asthma.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Substantial new resources are essential to increased access to and availability of services to low-income persons.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

To include ourselves within the same framework of understanding as other persons is a condition of rationality.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In such relations two persons accept certain rights and duties toward each other.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

What is the best explanation of what we all assume to be other persons?

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Is it possible that such a split brain and body transfer would result in your becoming two persons?

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Thus, the difference between two nonphysical persons is accountable on the grounds that they are affected by different physical objects.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

More specifically, it is difficult to tell whether one person's resulting utterance (aesthetic or prosaic) is correct, or even appropriate to the situation.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The three smallest (2 - 5 % of the total sample each) included persons from only one age group.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In addition, assessments of the perceived difficulty of activities provides some information about the person's effectiveness in everyday life.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Cohorts have potentially distinctive outcomes as a result of the interaction of developing persons with distinctive aspects of the milieus in which they develop.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

However, the speaker's voice and the other person's voice do not merge.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In the choice of language, persons do not simply select an instrument for mutual understanding and communication.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Whole households adjust their speech to protect certain persons.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all examples of person

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.