them
Language: English
Part of speech: pron
Pronunciation: enpr: thĕm
ipa: /ˈðɛm/
note: stressed form, New York City
ipa: [ˈd̪ɛm]
enpr: thəm
ipa: /ˈðəm/
ipa: [ˈd̪ʌm]
ipa: /ˈðʌm/
note: pen-pin merger
ipa: /ˈðɪm/
rhymes: -ɛm
Forms: form: of they
form: dem
Etymology: From Middle English þem, from Old Norse þeim.
Senses: examples: text: She treated them for a cold.
text: Proponents of adding a gender-neutral option to state identification documents say it would remove a form of discrimination against nonbinary people by providing them with the means to carry identification that matches their identity.
ref: 2019 May 29, Amy Harmon, “Which Box Do You Check? Some States Are Offering a Nonbinary Option”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 08 Jun 2019:
glosses: Those ones.
Used as the direct object of a verb.
examples: text: She wrote them a letter.
glosses: Those ones.
Used as the indirect object of a verb.
examples: text: Give it to them.
glosses: Those ones.
Used as the object of a preposition.
examples: text: If a student has an inappropriate question, whatever you do, do not berate them.
text: If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the Lord thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the Lord thy God, […] [t]hen shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Deuteronomy 17:2–5:
text: Place the casualty on their back with feet and legs raised—this is called the shock position. [emphasis in original] Once the casualty is positioned, cover them to preserve body heat, but do not overheat.
ref: 2006, St. John Ambulance, First on the Scene: Student Reference Guide, →ISBN, Lesson 2, page 3:
text: Someone in the crowd around the lifts called sycophantically, ‘Morning, Yaxley!’ Yaxley ignored them.
ref: 2007, J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, London: Bloomsbury, 2008, →ISBN, page 270:
qualifier: occasionally proscribed
glosses: A single person, previously mentioned, whose gender is unknown, irrelevant, or (since 21st c.) non-binary.
Used as the direct object of a verb.
examples: text: If one of my patients calls, please bring them their dinner.
qualifier: occasionally proscribed
glosses: A single person, previously mentioned, whose gender is unknown, irrelevant, or (since 21st c.) non-binary.
Used as the indirect object of a verb.
examples: text: If someone comes and asks for the ticket, just give it to them.
text: Each adolescent girl with ASD has needs specific to her because each of them has variable characteristics and different degrees of sensory and perceptual difficulties.
ref: 2024 July 2, Rukiye Arslan, Derya Yanık, Raziye Pekşen Akça, “Investigation of Menstrual Hygiene and Self-Care Skills of Adolescent Girls with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Mother Views”, in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, →DOI:
qualifier: occasionally proscribed
glosses: A single person, previously mentioned, whose gender is unknown, irrelevant, or (since 21st c.) non-binary.
Used as the object of a preposition.
examples: text: I know it seems unfair, but them's the rules.
text: And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
ref: 1611, King James Bible:
qualifier: informal set phrases
glosses: They or those.
Synonyms: word: dem
word: em
word: 'em
word: hem
Related terms: word: how about them apples
word: how you get them is how you lose them
word: if you can't beat them, join them
word: if you can't lick them, join them
word: mom and them
word: some mothers do have them
word: their
word: theirs
word: them ones
word: themself
word: themselves
word: them's the breaks
word: them's the facts
word: them's the rules
word: them there
word: they
word: us-and-them
word: us-and-them-ism
word: us versus them
word: with the best of them
word: Ime
word: me
word: myselfmemysen
word: mine
word: mymineme
word: we
word: us
word: ourselvesourselfoursen
word: oursourn
word: our
word: you
word: yourselfyoursen
word: yoursyourn
word: your
word: thou
word: thee
word: thyselftheeselfthysen
word: thine
word: thythine
word: youye
word: yourselves
word: you ally'all you guys
word: y'allselves
word: all yours y'all's you guys' your guys'
word: all your y'all's your all's you guys' your guys'
word: he
word: him
word: himselfhisselfhissen
word: hishisn
word: his
word: she
word: her
word: herselfhersen
word: hershern
word: ithit
word: itselfhitself
word: itshis
word: itshishits
word: one
word: oneself
word: –
word: one's
word: themhem
word: 'em
word: themselvestheirsen
word: theirstheirn
word: The following table shows a list of English personal pronoun
word: including archaic and dialectal forms. Dialectal and obsolete
word: archaic forms are in italics. 1 See Appendix:English third-person singular pronouns for attested neopronoun.