him

[ him ]
/ hɪm /

pronoun

the objective case of he, used as a direct or indirect object: I'll see him tomorrow. Give him the message.
Informal. (used instead of the pronoun he in the predicate after the verb to be): It's him. It isn't him.
Informal. (used instead of the pronoun his before a gerund): We were surprised by him wanting to leave.

noun

Informal. a male: Is the new baby a her or a him?

Origin of him

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

usage note for him

See he1, me.

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH him

him hymn

Definition for him (2 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.

Definition for him (3 of 3)

H.I.M.

His Imperial Majesty; Her Imperial Majesty.

British Dictionary definitions for him (1 of 7)

him
/ (hɪm, unstressed ɪm) /

pronoun (objective)

refers to a male person or animal they needed him; she baked him a cake; not him again!
mainly US a dialect word for himself he ought to find him a wife

Word Origin for him

Old English him, dative of he 1

undefined him

See me 1

British Dictionary definitions for him (2 of 7)

HIM

abbreviation for

His (or Her) Imperial Majesty

British Dictionary definitions for him (3 of 7)

He

the chemical symbol for

helium

British Dictionary definitions for him (4 of 7)

HE

abbreviation for

high explosive
His Eminence
His (or Her) Excellency

British Dictionary definitions for him (5 of 7)

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 him (6 of 7)

he 2
/ (heɪ, Hebrew he) /

noun

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

British Dictionary definitions for him (7 of 7)

he 3
/ (hiː, heɪ) /

interjection

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

Medical definitions for him

He

The symbol for the elementhelium

Scientific definitions for him

He

The symbol for helium.