he

1 of 5

pronoun

ˈhē How to pronounce he (audio)
ē
1
: that male one who is neither speaker nor hearer
he is my father
compare him, his, it, she, they
2
used in a generic sense or when the gender of the person is unspecified
he that hath ears to hear, let him hearMatthew 11:15 (King James Version)
one should do the best he can

he

2 of 5

noun (1)

1
: a male person or animal
2
: one that is strongly masculine or has strong masculine appeal
usually used in combination
that's what I call he-literatureSinclair Lewis

he

3 of 5

noun (2)

: the 5th letter of the Hebrew alphabet see Alphabet Table

He

4 of 5

symbol

helium

HE

5 of 5

abbreviation

1
Her Excellency; His Excellency
2
high efficiency
3
high explosive
4
His Eminence

Examples of he in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The he-can’t-win case was strong after Mr. Trump led the GOP to defeat in elections in 2018, 2020, the 2021 Georgia Senate races, and again in 2022 with disappointing gains in the House and defeat in the Senate. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 14 Dec. 2023 Maybe the pintail or the canvasback is better to eat, but there is nothing in the flying department as wonderfully gaudy as a pheasant or a he-mallard. Field & Stream, 31 Dec. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'he.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Pronoun

Middle English, from Old English ; akin to Old English hēo she, hit it, Old High German he, Latin cis, citra on this side, Greek ekeinos that person

Noun (2)

Hebrew hē'

First Known Use

Pronoun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

circa 1567, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of he was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near he

Cite this Entry

“He.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/he. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

he

pronoun
(ˈ)hē,
ē
1
: that male one who is neither speaker nor hearer
he is my father
2
used in a general sense or when the sex of the person is unknown
everyone should do the best he can

Medical Definition

He

symbol
helium

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