his

[ hiz; unstressed iz ]
/ hɪz; unstressed ɪz /

pronoun

the possessive form of he1 (used as an attributive or predicative adjective): His coat is the brown one. This brown coat is his. Do you mind his speaking first?
that or those belonging to him: His was the cleverest remark of all. I borrowed a tie of his.

Origin of his

before 900; Middle English, Old English, genitive of he1

usage note for his

See he1, me.

Definition for his (2 of 3)

His

Biochemistry.

Definition for his (3 of 3)

he 1
[ hee; unstressed ee ]
/ hi; unstressed i /

pronoun, nominative he, possessive his, objective him; plural nominative they, possessive their or theirs, objective them.

the male person or animal being discussed or last mentioned; that male.
anyone (without reference to gender); that person: He who hesitates is lost.

noun, plural hes.

any male person or animal; a man: hes and shes.

adjective

male (usually used in combination): a he-goat.

Origin of he

1
before 900; Middle English, Old English (masculine nominative singular); cognate with Dutch hij, Old Saxon hē, Old High German her he; see his, him, she, her, it1

usage note for he

Traditionally, the masculine singular pronouns he1 , his, and him have been used generically to refer to indefinite pronouns like anyone, everyone, and someone ( Everyone who agrees should raise his right hand ) and to singular nouns that can be applied to either gender ( painter, parent, person, teacher, writer, etc.): Every writer knows that his first book is not likely to be a bestseller. This generic use is often criticized as sexist, although many speakers and writers continue the practice.
Those who object to the generic use of he have developed various ways of avoiding it. One is to use he/she or she/he (or he or she or she or he ) or the appropriate case forms of these pairs: Everyone who agrees should raise his or her (or her or his or his/her or her/his ) right hand. Forms blending the feminine and masculine pronouns, as s/he, have not been widely adopted, probably because of confusion over how to say them.
Another solution is to change the antecedent pronoun or noun from singular to plural so that the plural pronouns they, their, and them can be used: All who agree should raise their right hands. All writers know that their first books are not likely to be bestsellers. See also they.

British Dictionary definitions for his (1 of 6)

his
/ (hɪz, unstressed ɪz) /

determiner

  1. of, belonging to, or associated with himhis own fault; his knee; I don't like his being out so late
  2. as pronounhis is on the left; that book is his
his and hers (of paired objects) for a man and woman respectively

pronoun

of his belonging to or associated with him

Word Origin for his

Old English his, genitive of he 1 and of hit it

British Dictionary definitions for his (2 of 6)

He

the chemical symbol for

helium

British Dictionary definitions for his (3 of 6)

HE

abbreviation for

high explosive
His Eminence
His (or Her) Excellency

British Dictionary definitions for his (4 of 6)

he 1
/ (hiː, unstressed ) /

pronoun (subjective)

refers to a male person or animal he looks interesting; he's a fine stallion
refers to an indefinite antecedent such as one, whoever, or anybody everybody can do as he likes in this country
refers to a person or animal of unknown or unspecified sex a member of the party may vote as he sees fit

noun

  1. a male person or animal
  2. (in combination)he-goat
  1. a children's game in which one player chases the others in an attempt to touch one of them, who then becomes the chaserCompare tag 2
  2. the person chasingCompare it 1 (def. 7)

Word Origin for he

Old English hē; related to Old Saxon hie, Old High German her he, Old Slavonic this, Latin cis on this side

British Dictionary definitions for his (5 of 6)

he 2
/ (heɪ, Hebrew he) /

noun

the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet (ה), transliterated as h

British Dictionary definitions for his (6 of 6)

he 3
/ (hiː, heɪ) /

interjection

an expression of amusement or derision Also: he-he!, hee-hee!

Medical definitions for his (1 of 3)

His

abbr.

histidine

Medical definitions for his (2 of 3)

His
[ hĭs ]
Wilhelm 1863-1934

German anatomist known for his investigations of the heart. He described (1893) the atrioventricular trunk, also called the His bundle.

Medical definitions for his (3 of 3)

He

The symbol for the elementhelium

Scientific definitions for his

He

The symbol for helium.