plural people
1
plural
: human beings making up a group or assembly or linked by a common interest
2
plural
: human beings, persons
—often used in compounds instead of persons
salespeople
—often used attributivelypeople skills
3
plural
: the members of a family or kinship
4
plural
: the mass of a community as distinguished from a special class
disputes between the people and the nobles
—often used by Communists to distinguish Communists from other people
5
plural peoples
: a body of persons that are united by a common culture, tradition, or sense of kinship, that typically have common language, institutions, and beliefs, and that often constitute a politically organized group
6
: lower animals usually of a specified kind or situation
7
: the body of enfranchised citizens of a state
peopled; peopling
ˈpē-p(ə-)liŋ 
Synonyms
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
Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 18 Apr. 2024
With help from a Texas laboratory specializing in missing and unidentified people and a forensics lab in Utah, the jawbone was given a genetic profile that could then be added to genealogy databases online.
—Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2024
Danya Taymor, and those people have never done a musical.
—Juan A. Ramírez, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2024
Westfield Bondi Junction, the six-level shopping mall in Sydney, reopened Thursday to allow people inside to pay their respects to the victims, while stores remain closed.
—Chris Pandolfo, Fox News, 18 Apr. 2024
Some people who have reported uncomfortable highs, and in some circumstances, panic attacks, psychosis, and hospitalization after taking a delta-8 or other hemp product.
—Ashley Okwuosa, The Examination; Amy Yurkanin, Al.com; John Diedrich, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2024
Some people lost insurance due to paperwork problems.
—Binghui Huang, The Indianapolis Star, 18 Apr. 2024
Arizona ranks 31st out of 51 states for health system performance for white people, the report found.
—Daniel Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 18 Apr. 2024
Some people take a different approach: train kids to handle guns responsibly.
—Martin Kaste, NPR, 18 Apr. 2024
Ken Makin, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 Feb. 2024
Knitting together so many divergent themes, Troll Knoll has its own mythology, peopled by Morris with Far Western Rinkydinks and Wackerbacks.
—Debbie Arrington, Sacramento Bee, 31 Jan. 2024
Instead of Iron Man or the Hulk, Bonelli’s back catalog features tales peopled with human characters.
—Boris Sollazzo, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Dec. 2023
For all their opacity, Whistler’s street scenes are alive, peopled with crowds at a bazaar or peering in windows.
—Angelica Aboulhosn, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Dec. 2023
Mongolia, in the international cinematic imagination, tends to be largely defined by the rugged lyricism of its rural landscapes, peopled by grizzled nomads and eagle hunters, and of course, celebrated as the birthplace of conquering warlord Genghis Khan.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 6 Sep. 2023
Under existing rules, the country that people first land in must take responsibility for them.
—Lorne Cook, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Apr. 2023
Her narrative is peopled with physicians and psychologists heartlessly and casually breaching their professional responsibilities.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 2 Mar. 2023
One is peopled by characters who know about Peggy Jo and her exploits, including a waitress who knew Peggy Jo as a regular.
—Chris Vognar, Chron, 1 Mar. 2023
Noun
Nothing changes about the advice for people regarding CWD and their health, either.
—Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 18 Apr. 2024
With help from a Texas laboratory specializing in missing and unidentified people and a forensics lab in Utah, the jawbone was given a genetic profile that could then be added to genealogy databases online.
—Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2024
Danya Taymor, and those people have never done a musical.
—Juan A. Ramírez, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2024
Westfield Bondi Junction, the six-level shopping mall in Sydney, reopened Thursday to allow people inside to pay their respects to the victims, while stores remain closed.
—Chris Pandolfo, Fox News, 18 Apr. 2024
Some people who have reported uncomfortable highs, and in some circumstances, panic attacks, psychosis, and hospitalization after taking a delta-8 or other hemp product.
—Ashley Okwuosa, The Examination; Amy Yurkanin, Al.com; John Diedrich, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2024
Some people lost insurance due to paperwork problems.
—Binghui Huang, The Indianapolis Star, 18 Apr. 2024
Arizona ranks 31st out of 51 states for health system performance for white people, the report found.
—Daniel Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 18 Apr. 2024
Some people take a different approach: train kids to handle guns responsibly.
—Martin Kaste, NPR, 18 Apr. 2024
Verb
Artist Paul Deo’s work is peopled with a galaxy of Black stars –limitless luminaries in politics, entertainment, and resistance.
—Ken Makin, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 Feb. 2024
Knitting together so many divergent themes, Troll Knoll has its own mythology, peopled by Morris with Far Western Rinkydinks and Wackerbacks.
—Debbie Arrington, Sacramento Bee, 31 Jan. 2024
Instead of Iron Man or the Hulk, Bonelli’s back catalog features tales peopled with human characters.
—Boris Sollazzo, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Dec. 2023
For all their opacity, Whistler’s street scenes are alive, peopled with crowds at a bazaar or peering in windows.
—Angelica Aboulhosn, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Dec. 2023
Mongolia, in the international cinematic imagination, tends to be largely defined by the rugged lyricism of its rural landscapes, peopled by grizzled nomads and eagle hunters, and of course, celebrated as the birthplace of conquering warlord Genghis Khan.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 6 Sep. 2023
Under existing rules, the country that people first land in must take responsibility for them.
—Lorne Cook, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Apr. 2023
Her narrative is peopled with physicians and psychologists heartlessly and casually breaching their professional responsibilities.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 2 Mar. 2023
One is peopled by characters who know about Peggy Jo and her exploits, including a waitress who knew Peggy Jo as a regular.
—Chris Vognar, Chron, 1 Mar. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'people.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to people
Dictionary Entries Near people
Cite this Entry
“People.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/people. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share