: a pronoun (such as I, you, or they) that expresses a distinction of person
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebWhile many transgender people use ‘he/him’ and ‘she/her’ pronouns, others — including nonbinary, agender or gender-fluid people — use ‘they/them’ as a gender-neutral singular personal pronoun. Dawn Ennis, Forbes, 24 July 2022 The company has also created personal pronoun pins that employees can choose to wear with their uniforms. Zoe Sottile, CNN, 2 Apr. 2022 Do any of your teachers ever ask students for their personal pronouns? Jeremy Engle, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2020 For example, people exhibiting symptoms of depression tend to use personal pronouns, like I, much more than do non-depressed people. Cassie Werber, Quartz at Work, 3 Mar. 2020 The language mavens at Merriam-Webster have declared the personal pronoun their word of the year based on a 313% increase in look-ups on the company's search site, Merriam-Webster.com, this year when compared with 2018.CBS News, 10 Dec. 2019 Use numbers and personal pronouns to engage your readerEmail marketing is engagement marketing. Maria Semple, NBC News, 18 Oct. 2017 See More
Word History
First Known Use
1668, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
personal pronoun
noun
: a pronoun (as I, you, it, or they) used instead of a noun that names a definite person or thing