people

1 of 2

noun

peo·​ple ˈpē-pəl 

plural people

1

plural : human beings, persons: such as

a

plural : human beings as a group

believes that people are basically good

things people say

b

: people who form a segment of humanity usually sharing a common characteristic

young people

met all sorts of people on the trip

(proverb) People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

—often used in combination

salespeople

c

: people linked by a common factor

the people next door

the people of the village

city/mountain people

the American people

2

plural : the members of a family or kinship

Where are your people from?

Our people have been farmers for generations.

3

plural : the mass of a community or group as distinguished from a special class

disputes between the people and the nobles

a queen's duty to her people

a priest addressing the people

4

plural peoples : human beings forming a body and united by a common culture, tradition, or sense of kinship, and typically having common language, institutions, and beliefs, and often constituting a politically organized group

nations populated by distinct peoples

5

a

: animals usually of a specified kind or situation

furry and feathered peoples of the forest

b

: mythical beings thought of as similar to humans

the fairy peoples

see also little people sense 1

6

: the body of enfranchised citizens of a state

representatives elected by the people

peopleless

ˈpē-pə(l)-ləs 

adjective

Usage of Person

The words person and people are not related etymologically. Person comes from Latin persona, meaning "actor's mask; character in a play; person," while people comes from Latin populus, meaning "the people." Person is the older word; beginning in the early 13th century, it referred both to a human being (as it most often does now), and to a character in a play (a meaning seldom heard in modern use). People was adopted in the early 14th century for general reference to human beings, and shortly after for reference to more than one person. Persons competed with people in this role for centuries, and for much of the 20th century persons was recommended whenever a group or a number of individuals were being mentioned, as in "the persons at the table" and "seven persons." These uses are now largely relegated to law-related contexts; in other contexts they are considered old-fashioned. People is today the usual plural of person.

people

2 of 2

verb

peopled; peopling ˈpē-p(ə-)liŋ 

transitive verb

1

: to supply or fill with people

2

: to dwell in : inhabit

Synonyms of people

Noun

• world
• folks
• humanity
• public

Verb

• inhabit
• populate

Examples of people in a Sentence

Noun

People can be really cruel sometimes.

People think the coach should be fired.

She tends to annoy people.

People say it's impossible, but I'm still going to try.

a book for young people

a people who migrated across the Bering Strait

the native peoples of Mexico

Verb

a science-fiction novel about a mission to people Mars

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

That campaign has been driven internally by Margi Conklin, a New York Post veteran who was most recently managing editor at The Free Press, according two people with knowledge of the situation. —Max Tani, semafor.com, 30 Oct. 2025

Adding a 3,000-bed correctional facility as a customer of a water treatment network in a city with a population of about 3,600 people is no small feat, according to Ozark Mayor Roxie Hall. —Penny Weaver, Arkansas Online, 30 Oct. 2025

Verb

Throughout Humphreys County and Hickman County, peopled gathered with their churches for support and comfort in the days after the tragedy. —Beth Warren, Nashville Tennessean, 12 Oct. 2025

The Master is the greatest of them all, a movie peopled by characters who are at once intensely human and also the stuff of otherworldly fables. —Alison Willmore, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English peple, poeple, people, borrowed from Anglo-French pople, poeple, people (continental Old French pople, pueple), going back to Latin populus "a human community, people, nation, the people (transcending the individuals composing it), the general public," going back to Italic *poplo- (whence also Umbrian poplom), of uncertain origin

Note: There is some reason to believe that that the original meaning of populus in Latin was "band of armed citizens, army"—compare the old title magister populī borne by the dictātor, a magistrate given plenary powers in times of emergency, such as an invasion; and the denominal verb populārī "to ravage, plunder." The meaning "army" has also been attributed to uses of Umbrian poplu in the Iguvine Tables. A parallel sense progression ("armed force" > "multitude, throng") is evident in English host entry 4 and its congeners. On the other hand, the sense "mass of a community, the people" is well-attested inscriptionally and in Old Latin authors such as Ennius, so that the meaning "band of soldiers," if it existed, was effectively lost at an early date. The further etymology of populus is unknown, though both Indo-European and Etruscan origins are proffered; a number of hypotheses are summarized by Margaret Watmough in Studies in the Etruscan Loanwords in Latin (Florence, 1997), pp. 69-81.

Verb

Middle English peuplien, peoplen, in part borrowed from Anglo-French popler, poepler (derivative of pople, people people entry 1), in part derivative of peple, people people entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing people

• all things to all people/men
• a man of the people
• beautiful people
• boat people
• flower people
• good people
• if/had (two people's) situations been reversed
• little people
• man of the people
• of all people
• people carrier
• people mover
• people person
• people pleaser
• people pleasing
• people skills
• people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones
• re-people
• some people/guys have all the luck
• street people
• the people

Rhymes for people

• businesspeople
• craftspeople
• laypeople
• salespeople
• townspeople
• tradespeople
• workpeople
• steeple

Kids Definition

people

1 of 2 noun

peo·​ple ˈpē-pəl 

plural people

1

plural : human beings, persons

—often used in compounds instead of persons

salespeople

2

plural : the members of a family : kindred

3

plural : the mass of a community as distinguished from a special class

4

plural peoples : a body of persons united by a common culture, tradition, or sense of kinship, and usually language

5

: the body of voters of a state

people

2 of 2 verb

peopled; peopling ˈpē-p(ə-)liŋ 

1

: to supply or fill with people

2

: inhabit