their

their
possessive determiner
1》 belonging to or associated with the people or things previously mentioned or easily identified.
2》 belonging to or associated with a person of unspecified sex (used in place of either ‘his’ or ‘his or her’).
3》 (Their) used in titles.
Origin
ME: from ON their(r)a 'of them', genitive plural of the demonstrative ; related to them and they.
Usage
Do not confuse their and there. Their means ‘belonging to them’ (I went to their house) while there means ‘in, at, or to that place’ (it took an hour to get there).
On the use of their in the singular to mean ‘his or her’, see usage at they.

English new terms dictionary. 2014.

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  • their — [ ðer ] determiner *** Their is used as a possessive determiner (followed by a noun), being a possessive form of they. 1. ) belonging to or relating to a particular group of people or things that have already been mentioned or when it is obvious… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • their — W1S1 [ðə strong ðeə $ ðər strong ðer] determiner [possessive form of they ] [Date: 1100 1200; : Old Norse; Origin: theirra theirs ] 1.) belonging to or connected with people or things that have already been mentioned ▪ They washed their faces and …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Their — Their, pron. & a. [OE. thair, fr. Icel. [thorn]eirra, [thorn]eira, of them, but properly gen. pl. of the definite article; akin to AS. [eth][=a]ra, [eth][=ae]ra, gen. pl. of the definite article, or fr. AS. [eth][=ae]ra, influenced by the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • their — c.1200, from O.N. þierra, gen. of þeir they (see THEY (Cf. they)). Replaced O.E. hiera. Use with singular objects, scorned by grammarians, is attested from c.1300. Theirs (c.1300) is a double possessive. Alternative form theirn (1836) is attested …   Etymology dictionary

  • their — [[t]ðeə(r)[/t]] ♦ (Their is the third person plural possessive determiner.) 1) DET POSS You use their to indicate that something belongs or relates to the group of people, animals, or things that you are talking about. Janis and Kurt have… …   English dictionary

  • their — /dhair/; unstressed /dheuhr/, pron. 1. a form of the possessive case of they used as an attributive adjective, before a noun: their home; their rights as citizens; their departure for Rome. 2. (used after an indefinite singular antecedent in… …   Universalium

  • their — adjective Etymology: Middle English, from their, pronoun, from Old Norse theirra, genitive plural demonstrative & personal pronoun; akin to Old English thæt that Date: 13th century 1. of or relating to them or themselves especially as possessors …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • their — strong,; strong, determiner (possessive form of they) 1 of or belonging to them: They washed their faces and went to bed. | The twins spend all their time together. 2 used to avoid saying his or her after words like anyone , no one , everyone etc …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • their — pronoun /ðeɚ/ a) Belonging to them. They will meet tomorrow at their convenience. b) Belonging to someone of unknown gender. This is probably their cat. See Also: they, them, theirs …   Wiktionary

  • their — See their, theirs See their, there, they re, there s …   Dictionary of problem words and expressions

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