their

their
adjective Etymology: Middle English, from their, pronoun, from Old Norse theirra, genitive plural demonstrative & personal pronoun; akin to Old English thæt that Date: 13th century 1. of or relating to them or themselves especially as possessors, agents, or objects of an action <
their furniture
>
<
their verses
>
<
their being seen
>
2. his or her ; his, her, its — used with an indefinite third person singular antecedent <
anyone in their senses — W. H. Auden
>
Usage: see they

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • their — [ ðer ] determiner *** Their is used as a possessive determiner (followed by a noun), being a possessive form of they. 1. ) belonging to or relating to a particular group of people or things that have already been mentioned or when it is obvious… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • their — W1S1 [ðə strong ðeə $ ðər strong ðer] determiner [possessive form of they ] [Date: 1100 1200; : Old Norse; Origin: theirra theirs ] 1.) belonging to or connected with people or things that have already been mentioned ▪ They washed their faces and …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Their — Their, pron. & a. [OE. thair, fr. Icel. [thorn]eirra, [thorn]eira, of them, but properly gen. pl. of the definite article; akin to AS. [eth][=a]ra, [eth][=ae]ra, gen. pl. of the definite article, or fr. AS. [eth][=ae]ra, influenced by the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • their — ► POSSESSIVE DETERMINER 1) belonging to or associated with the people or things previously mentioned or easily identified. 2) belonging to or associated with a person of unspecified sex (used in place of either ‘his’ or ‘his or her’). 3) (Their)… …   English terms dictionary

  • their — [ther] possessive pronominal adj. [ME theyr < ON theirra, gen. pl. of the demonstrative pron. replacing ME here, OE hira: see THEY] of, belonging to, made by, or done by them: also used before some formal titles [Their Majesties ]: often used… …   English World dictionary

  • their — their·selves; their; …   English syllables

  • their — c.1200, from O.N. þierra, gen. of þeir they (see THEY (Cf. they)). Replaced O.E. hiera. Use with singular objects, scorned by grammarians, is attested from c.1300. Theirs (c.1300) is a double possessive. Alternative form theirn (1836) is attested …   Etymology dictionary

  • their */*/*/ — UK [ðeə(r)] / US [ðer] determiner Summary: Their is used as a possessive determiner (followed by a noun), being a possessive form of they. Get it right: their: Don t confuse their (the possessive form of they ) and there (a pronoun and adverb).… …   English dictionary

  • their — [[t]ðeə(r)[/t]] ♦ (Their is the third person plural possessive determiner.) 1) DET POSS You use their to indicate that something belongs or relates to the group of people, animals, or things that you are talking about. Janis and Kurt have… …   English dictionary

  • their — /dhair/; unstressed /dheuhr/, pron. 1. a form of the possessive case of they used as an attributive adjective, before a noun: their home; their rights as citizens; their departure for Rome. 2. (used after an indefinite singular antecedent in… …   Universalium

  • their — possessive determiner 1》 belonging to or associated with the people or things previously mentioned or easily identified. 2》 belonging to or associated with a person of unspecified sex (used in place of either ‘his’ or ‘his or her’). 3》 (Their)… …   English new terms dictionary

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