me
[ mee ]
/ mi /
pronoun
the objective case of I, used as a direct or indirect object: They asked me to the party. Give me your hand.
Informal.
(used instead of the pronoun I in the predicate after the verb to be): It's me.
Informal.
(used instead of the pronoun my before a gerund): Did you hear about me getting promoted?
adjective
of or involving an obsessive interest in one's own satisfaction: the me decade.
Origin of me
before 900; Middle English
me, Old English
mē (dative and accusative singular); cognate with Dutch
mij, Old High German
mir
usage note for me
2. A traditional rule governing the case of personal pronouns after forms of the verb
to be is that the nominative or subjective form (
I; she; he; we; they ) must be chosen. Some 400 years ago, owing to the feeling that the postverb position in a sentence is object rather than subject territory,
me and other objective pronouns (
him; her; us; them ) began to replace the subjective forms after
be, so that
It is I became
It is me. Today such constructions—
It's me. That's him. It must be them. —are almost universal in speech, the context in which they usually occur. In formal speech or edited writing, the subjective forms are used:
It was I who first noticed the problem. My brother was the one who called our attention to the problem, but it wasn't he who solved it. It had been she at the window, not her husband.
Me and other objective forms have also replaced the subjective forms in speech in constructions like Me neither; Not us; Who, them? and in comparisons after as or than: She's no faster than him at getting the answers. When the pronoun is the subject of a verb that is expressed, the nominative forms are used: Neither did I. She's no faster than he is at getting the answers. See also than.
3. When a verb form ending in -ing functions as a noun, it is traditionally called a gerund: Walking is good exercise. She enjoys reading biographies. Usage guides have long insisted that gerunds, being nouns, must be preceded by the possessive form of the pronouns or nouns ( my; your; her; his; its; our; their; child's; author's ) rather than by the objective forms ( me; you; him; her; it; us; them ): The landlord objected to my (not me ) having guests late at night. Several readers were delighted at the author's (not author ) taking a stand on the issue. In standard practice, however, both objective and possessive forms appear before gerunds. Possessives are more common in formal edited writing, but the occurrence of objective forms is increasing; in informal writing and speech objective forms are more common: Many objections have been raised to the government (or government's ) allowing lumbering in national parks. “Does anyone object to me (or my ) reading this report aloud?” the moderator asked.
Me and other objective forms have also replaced the subjective forms in speech in constructions like Me neither; Not us; Who, them? and in comparisons after as or than: She's no faster than him at getting the answers. When the pronoun is the subject of a verb that is expressed, the nominative forms are used: Neither did I. She's no faster than he is at getting the answers. See also than.
3. When a verb form ending in -ing functions as a noun, it is traditionally called a gerund: Walking is good exercise. She enjoys reading biographies. Usage guides have long insisted that gerunds, being nouns, must be preceded by the possessive form of the pronouns or nouns ( my; your; her; his; its; our; their; child's; author's ) rather than by the objective forms ( me; you; him; her; it; us; them ): The landlord objected to my (not me ) having guests late at night. Several readers were delighted at the author's (not author ) taking a stand on the issue. In standard practice, however, both objective and possessive forms appear before gerunds. Possessives are more common in formal edited writing, but the occurrence of objective forms is increasing; in informal writing and speech objective forms are more common: Many objections have been raised to the government (or government's ) allowing lumbering in national parks. “Does anyone object to me (or my ) reading this report aloud?” the moderator asked.
Words nearby me
Definition for me (2 of 6)
Definition for me (3 of 6)
ME
Maine (approved especially for use with zip code).
Middle East.
Middle English.
Definition for me (4 of 6)
I
[ ahy ]
/ aɪ /
pronoun, nominative I, possessive my or mine, objective me; plural nominative we, possessive our or ours, objective us.
the nominative singular pronoun, used by a speaker in referring to himself or herself.
noun, plural I's.
(used to denote the narrator of a literary work written in the first person singular).
Metaphysics.
the ego.
Origin of I
before 900; Middle English
ik, ich, i; Old English
ic, ih; cognate with German
ich, Old Norse
ek, Latin
ego, Greek
egṓ, OCS
azŭ, Lithuanian
aš, Sanskrit
ahám
usage note for I
See
me.
Definition for me (5 of 6)
Definition for me (6 of 6)
M.E.
British Dictionary definitions for me (1 of 10)
me
1
/ (miː, unstressed mɪ) /
pronoun (objective)
refers to the speaker or writer
that shocks me; he gave me the glass
(when used an an indirect object) mainly US a dialect word for myself I want to get me a car
noun
informal
the personality of the speaker or writer or something that expresses it
the real me comes out when I'm happy
Word Origin for me
Old English
mē (dative); compare Dutch, German
mir, Latin
mē (accusative),
mihi (dative)
British Dictionary definitions for me (2 of 10)
British Dictionary definitions for me (3 of 10)
me
3
the internet domain name for
Montenegro
British Dictionary definitions for me (4 of 10)
Me
the chemical symbol for
the methyl group
British Dictionary definitions for me (5 of 10)
ME
abbreviation for
British Dictionary definitions for me (6 of 10)
i
I
/ (aɪ) /
noun plural i's, I's or Is
the ninth letter and third vowel of the modern English alphabet
any of several speech sounds represented by this letter, in English as in bite or hit
- something shaped like an I
- (in combination)an I-beam
dot the i's and cross the t's
to pay meticulous attention to detail
British Dictionary definitions for me (7 of 10)
i
symbol for
the imaginary number √–1
Also called: j
British Dictionary definitions for me (8 of 10)
Me.
abbreviation for
Maine
British Dictionary definitions for me (9 of 10)
I
1
/ (aɪ) /
pronoun
(subjective)
refers to the speaker or writer
Word Origin for I
C12: reduced form of Old English
ic; compare Old Saxon
ik, Old High German
ih, Sanskrit
ahám
British Dictionary definitions for me (10 of 10)
I
2
symbol for
abbreviation for
Italy (international car registration)
Word Origin for I
(for sense 4) from Latin (
aff)
i (
rmo) I affirm
Medical definitions for me (1 of 2)
ME
abbr.
medical examiner
Medical definitions for me (2 of 2)
I
The symbol for the elementiodine
i
The symbol forcurrent
Scientific definitions for me (1 of 2)
i
[ ī ]
The number whose square is equal to -1. Numbers expressed in terms of i are called imaginary or complex numbers.
Scientific definitions for me (2 of 2)
I
The symbol for electric current.
The symbol for iodine.
Idioms and Phrases with me (1 of 2)
me
see dear me; so help me.
Idioms and Phrases with me (2 of 2)
i
see dot the i's and cross the t's.