he
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He
The symbol for helium.
HE
abbr.
1. Her (or His) Excellency
2. high explosive
3. His Eminence
he 1
(hē)pron.
1. Used to refer to the male person or animal previously mentioned or implied.
2. Usage Problem
a. Used to refer to a person whose gender is unspecified or unknown: Someone left his umbrella in the lobby.
b. Anyone: "He who desires but acts not, breeds pestilence" (William Blake).
n.
A male person or animal. Sometimes used in combination: Is the cat a he? We saw a he-goat cross the road.
Usage Note: Historically, the pronouns he, him, and his have been used as generic or gender-neutral singular pronouns, as in A novelist should write about what he knows best and No one seems to take any pride in his work anymore. Since the early 1900s, however, this usage has been criticized for being sexist in its assumption that the male is representative of everyone. As long ago as 1987, a majority of the Usage Panel indicated that they preferred to avoid the generic use of he. Certainly the avoidance of this usage has become common at all levels of formality. Typical strategies for doing so include using the plural (that is, avoiding the singular entirely), so they is used instead of he. This is probably the easiest solution. (The matter of using they to refer to singular antecedents is addressed in the usage note at the entry for they in this dictionary.) Writers can also employ compound and coordinate forms such as he/she or he or she, though these constructions can be cumbersome in sustained use. Some writers, especially in academic contexts, use she in alteration with he to balance the genders, or they use she exclusively, in what might be seen as a pointed overturning of tradition. The writer who chooses to use generic he and its inflected forms in the face of the strong trend away from that usage may be viewed as deliberately calling attention to traditional gender roles or may simply appear to be insensitive. · In certain sentences, the generic pronoun can simply be dropped or changed to an article with no change in meaning. The sentence A writer who draws on personal experience for material should not be surprised if reviewers seize on that fact is complete as it stands and requires no pronoun before the word material. The sentence Every student handed in his assignment is just as clear when written Every student handed in the assignment. See Usage Notes at each, every, neither, one, she, they.
he 2
(hā)n.
The fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. See Table at alphabet.
[Hebrew hē, of Phoenician origin.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
he
(hiː; unstressed iː)pron (subjective)
1. refers to a male person or animal: he looks interesting; he's a fine stallion.
2. refers to an indefinite antecedent such as one, whoever, or anybody: everybody can do as he likes in this country.
3. refers to a person or animal of unknown or unspecified sex: a member of the party may vote as he sees fit.
n
4.
a. a male person or animal
b. (in combination): he-goat.
[Old English hē; related to Old Saxon hie, Old High German her he, Old Slavonic sĭ this, Latin cis on this side]
he
(heɪ; Hebrew he)n
(Letters of the Alphabet (Foreign)) the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet (ה), transliterated as h
he
(hiː; heɪ)interj
an expression of amusement or derision. Also: he-he! or hee-hee!
He
the chemical symbol for
(Elements & Compounds) helium
HE
abbreviation for
1. high explosive
2. (Roman Catholic Church) His Eminence
3. His (or Her) Excellency
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
he1
(hi; unstressed i)pron. nom. he, poss. his, obj. him; pron.
1. the male person or animal being discussed or last mentioned; that male.
2. anyone (without reference to sex); that person: He who hesitates is lost.
n. 3. any male person or animal; a man: hes and shes.
adj. 4. male (usu. used in combination): a he-goat.
[before 900; Middle English, Old English hē (masculine nominative singular); c. Dutch hij, Old Saxon hē, Old High German her he; see his, him, she, her, it]
usage: Traditionally, the pronouns he, his, and him have been used generically to refer to indefinite singular pronouns like anyone, everyone, and someone (Everyone who agrees should raise his hand) and to singular nouns that do not indicate sex: Every writer hopes he will produce a bestseller. This generic use is often criticized as sexist, although many speakers and writers continue the practice. Various approaches have been developed to avoid generic he. One is to use plural forms entirely: Those who agree should raise their hands. All writers hope they will produce bestsellers. Another is to use the masculine and feminine singular pronouns together: he or she, she or he; he/she, she/he. A common practice in speech is to use forms of they to refer to such antecedents: If anyone calls, tell them I'm not home. See they. Forms blending the feminine and masculine pronouns, as s/he, have not been widely adopted. See also they.
he2
or heh
(heɪ)n., pl. hes or hehs.
1. the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
2. any of the sounds represented by this letter.
[< Hebrew hē']
He
Chem. Symbol.
helium.
H.E.
1. high explosive.
2. His Eminence.
3. His Excellency; Her Excellency.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
He
The symbol for helium.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
he
He is the subject of a verb. You use he to refer to a man, boy, or male animal that has already been mentioned, or whose identity is known.
He had a nervous habit of biting his nails.
Bill had flown back from New York and he and his wife took me out to dinner.
When the subject of a sentence is followed by a relative clause, you do not use he in front of the main verb. For example, you do not say 'The man who is going to buy my car, he lives in Norwich'. You say 'The man who is going to buy my car lives in Norwich'.
The man who came into the room was small and slender.
Professor Marvin, who was always early, was there already.
he
– she – they1. 'he'
He, him, his, and himself are sometimes used to refer back to an indefinite pronoun or to a word such as person, child, or student.
If anybody complained about this, he was told that things would soon get back to normal.
It won't hurt a child to have his meals at a different time.
Many people object to this use because it suggests that the person referred to is male.
2. 'he or she'
You can sometimes use he or she, him or her, his or her, or himself or herself.
A parent may feel that he or she has nothing to give a child.
Anyone can call himself or herself a psychologist, even if untrained and unqualified.
Many people avoid these expressions because they think they sound clumsy and unnatural, especially when more than one of them is used in the same sentence.
In writing, some people use s/he to mean he or she.
3. 'they'
Most people use they, them, and their.
Everyone thinks they know what the problems of living with a teenager are.
Often when we touch someone we are demonstrating our love for them.
Don't hope to change anyone or their attitudes.
This use used to be considered incorrect, but it is now the most common form in both spoken and written English, and is used in formal and informal writing.
It is often possible to avoid all the above uses. You can sometimes do this by using plurals. For example, instead of saying 'Every student has his own room', you can say 'All the students have their own rooms'. Instead of saying 'Anyone who goes inside must take off his shoes', you can say 'People who go inside must take off their shoes'.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  He - a very light colorless element that is one of the six inert gasses; the most difficult gas to liquefy; occurs in economically extractable amounts in certain natural gases (as those found in Texas and Kansas)chemical element, element - any of the more than 100 known substances (of which 92 occur naturally) that cannot be separated into simpler substances and that singly or in combination constitute all matter |
| 2. | he - the 5th letter of the Hebrew alphabet Hebraic alphabet, Hebrew alphabet, Hebrew script - a Semitic alphabet used since the 5th century BC for writing the Hebrew language (and later for writing Yiddish and Ladino) alphabetic character, letter of the alphabet, letter - the conventional characters of the alphabet used to represent speech; "his grandmother taught him his letters" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
TranslationsSelect a language:
Spanish / Español
HE
ABBR1. =high explosive
2. =His or Her Excellency → S.E.
3. =His Eminence → S.Em.a
he
[hiː]A. PERS PRON
1. (emphatic, to avoid ambiguity) → él
we went to the cinema but he didn't → nosotros fuimos al cine pero él no
it is he who → es él quien ...
you've got more money than he has → tienes más dinero que él
there he is → allí está
we went to the cinema but he didn't → nosotros fuimos al cine pero él no
it is he who → es él quien ...
you've got more money than he has → tienes más dinero que él
Don't translate the subject pronoun when not emphasizing or clarifying:
he's very tall → es muy altothere he is → allí está
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
he
(hiː) pronoun (used as the subject of a verb).
1. a male person or animal already spoken about. When I spoke to John, he told me he had seen you.él
noun a male person or animal. Is a cow a he or a she?macho
he- male. a he-goat.macho
ˈhe-man (-mӕn) – plural ˈhe-men – noun a very strong, powerful man. machote
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
he
→ élMultilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
Collins Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009