What does "it" mean?
One who is neither a he nor a she; a creature; a dehumanized being.
It
/ɪt/ adj, det, name, noun, pron, slang
adj, det, name, noun, pron, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: One who is neither a he nor a she; a creature; a dehumanized being.
- Grammar: it is listed as adj, det, name, noun, pron, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: alter, alter ego, alterum, arm instruction set.
- Useful contrasts: msh, her, him.
- Usage evidence: Today is June 18th and it is Muiriel's birthday!
How to use "it"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "it" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "it" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "it" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "it" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "it" is acting as adj, det, name, noun, pron, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "alter" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "it", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 One who is neither a he nor a she; a creature; a dehumanized being.
"His master glanced up quickly, and removed the letter from his hands. "I'm surprised at you, James," he remarked severely. "A secretary should control itself. Don't forget that the perfect secretary is an it: an automatic machine—a thing incapable of feeling.…""
- 2 Initialism of information technology. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
"Hello, IT. Have you tried turning it off and turning it on again? Ok. Well, are you sure that it's plugged in?"
- 3 A biological force that inhabits living beings, according to the vitalist approach of Georg Groddeck. uncountable
"Georg Groddeck believed in man's innate urge to symbolize. […] kind of defenses that interfere with the free creation of the It. But it would be wrong to call Groddeck an artist (which he was) as opposed to a clinical observer […]"
- 4 the branch of engineering that deals with the use of computers and telecommunications to retrieve and store and transmit information wordnet
- 5 The person who chases and tries to catch the other players in the playground game of tag.
"In the next game, Adam and Tom will be it…"
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 Initialism of inclusive tour. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 7 The Id, in Freudian psychology. uncountable
"I believe that Freud was mistaken when he made the It into an agency without accounting for how the unconscious portion of the I performs the executive functions of object choice for the drives and competing unconscious material […]"
- 8 A game of tag. British
"Let's play it at breaktime."
- 9 Initialism of intercept-time method. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 10 Alternative letter-case form of it (“desirable quality; quality of being successful, fashionable, in vogue”). alt-of, uncountable
"After selling more than three million copies worldwide of their self- titled 2004 debut, and becoming the new It band, Franz Ferdinand lent songs to both commercials (including "Take Me Out" for Sony's PSP) and art-house porn ..."
- 11 A desirable characteristic, as being fashionable. informal
"Man, he's really got it."
- 12 Something desirable or suitable. informal
"Bro, that shirt is not it."
- 13 Sexual intercourse. informal
"OMG, they were doing it in the storage room."
- 14 Sex appeal. informal
"She really has it going on."
- 15 Alternative letter-case form of It (“force in the vitalist approach of Georg Groddeck”). alt-of
"For Groddeck, the it is given, unknowable, and he does not try to conceptualize drives or forces. Early life and sexuality permeate […]"
- 16 Alternative letter-case form of It (“the id”). alt-of
"[…] thus reversing the roles of the I and the it, the former now occupying the place of the latter and vice versa. An awareness of our bisubjective nature (it and me) requires thus an I as a third term that slides between […]"
Adjective
- 1 Most fashionable, popular, or in vogue. colloquial, not-comparable
"Going away for the weekend and feel the need to profile en route? This is the "it" bag."
- 2 Initialism of intrathecal. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, not-comparable
Pronoun
- 1 The third-person singular neuter personal pronoun used to refer to an inanimate object, abstract entity, or non-human living thing.
"Take this book and put it on the shelf."
- 2 A third-person singular personal pronoun used to refer to a baby or child, especially of unknown gender.
"She took the baby and held it in her arms."
- 3 A third-person singular pronoun used to refer to an unspecified person. rare
"All these things inclined her, step by step, to submit to the new discovery, whether Queen Victoria's or another's, that each man and each woman has another allotted to it for life, whom it supports, by whom it is supported, till death them do part."
- 4 An affectionate third-person singular personal pronoun. obsolete
""[…] It's my belief that you don't know your own mind." "I don't, dear," said Hulda, nestling to him. "Why, what a puss it is!" cried Sir Philip, kissing her tenderly."
- 5 A third-person singular personal pronoun used to refer to an animate referent who is transgender or non-binary. derogatory, offensive
"1977-1980, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure Next morning bought her [a drag queen] breakfast & she asked for a couple dollars to get a drink. Gave her $3, walked her to a bar. […] Some teenage boys watched us walking & began shouting. When I left her at the bar door & kissed her goodbye, they began shouting "Ugh! You kissed it!!""
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 Refers to someone being identified, often on the phone, but not limited to this situation.
"It's me, John."
- 7 The impersonal pronoun, used without referent as the subject of an impersonal verb or statement (known as the dummy pronoun, dummy it or weather it).
"It is nearly 10 o’clock."
- 8 The impersonal pronoun, used without referent, or with unstated but contextually implied referent, in various short idioms or expressions.
"rough it"
- 9 The impersonal pronoun, used without referent, or with unstated but contextually implied referent, in various short idioms or expressions.; Referring to a desirable quality or ability, or quality of being successful, fashionable or in vogue.
"After all these years, she still has it."
- 10 The impersonal pronoun, used without referent, or with unstated but contextually implied referent, in various short idioms or expressions.; Referring to sexual intercourse or other sexual activity.
"I caught them doing it."
- 11 Sex appeal, especially that which goes beyond physical appearance. uncountable
"'Tisn't beauty, so to speak, nor good talk necessarily. It's just It. Some women'll stay in a man's memory if they once walked down a street"
- 12 The impersonal pronoun, used as a placeholder for a delayed subject, or less commonly, object; known as the dummy pronoun (according to some definitions), anticipatory it or, more formally in linguistics, a syntactic expletive. The delayed subject is commonly a to-infinitive, a gerund, or a noun clause introduced by a subordinating conjunction.
"It’s not worth talking to you."
- 13 All or the end; something after which there is no more.
"Are there more students in this class, or is this it?"
- 14 Followed by an omitted and understood relative pronoun: That which; what. obsolete
"In briefe, I am content, and what should providence add more? Surely this is it [= it which] wee call Happinesse, and this doe I enjoy [...]."
Determiner
- 1 Its. obsolete
"That which groweth of it owne accord of thy haruest, thou ſhalt not reape, neither gather the grapes of thy Uine vndreſſed: for it is a yeere of reſt vnto the land."
Proper Noun
- 1 Alternative form of It.: abbreviation of Italy. alt-of, alternative
- 2 Alternative form of It.: abbreviation of Italian (language). alt-of, alternative
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Today is June 18th and it is Muiriel's birthday!"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "it"?
Common synonyms include: alter, alter ego, alterum, arm instruction set, better self, ca complet.
How do you use "it" in a sentence?
Today is June 18th and it is Muiriel's birthday!
How do you pronounce "it"?
Pronounced /ɪt/.
Etymology
From Middle English it, hit ( > dialectal English hit (“it”)), from Old English hit (“it”), from Proto-West Germanic *hit, from Proto-Germanic *hit (“this, this one”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱe (“here; here”). Cognates Cognate with Yola it, t', yt (“it”), North Frisian at, et, 't (“it”), Saterland Frisian et (“it”), West Frisian it (“it”), Dutch het (“it”), Luxembourgish hatt (“her, it, she”), Elfdalian eð (“it”); also Primitive Irish ᚕᚑᚔ (koi, “here”), Latin cis (“short of; before”), hic (“this”), Greek εκείνος (ekeínos, “that; those”). Compare Cimbrian es, is, 's, 'z (“it”), German es, 's (“it, there”), Mòcheno and Vilamovian s (“it”), Yiddish עס (es, “it”), Faroese ið (“that, which, who”), Gothic 𐌹𐍄𐌰 (ita, “it”), which instead descends from Proto-Germanic *it (“it”). More at he.
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