Adjacent Words

Their definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

THEIR, a pronom.
1. Their has the sense of a pronominal adjective, denoting of them, or the possession of two or more; as their voices; their garments; their houses; their land; their country.
2. Theirs is used as a substitute for the adjective and the noun to which it refers, and in this case, it may be the nominative to a verb. "Our land is the most extensive, but theirs is the best cultivated." Here theirs stands as the representative of their land, and is the nominative to is.
Nothing but the name of zeal appears
'Twixt our best actions and the worst of theirs.
In this use, theirs is not in the possessive case, for then there would be a double possessive.

Merriam Webster's

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, agents, or objects of an action <their furniture> <their verses> <their being seen> 2. his or her ; his, her, its — used with an indefinite third person singular antecedent <anyone in their senses — W. H. Auden> Usage: see they

Oxford Reference Dictionary

poss.pron. (attrib.) 1 of or belonging to them or themselves (their house; their own business). 2 (Their) (in titles) that they are (Their Majesties). 3 disp. as a third person sing. indefinite meaning 'his or her' (has anyone lost their purse?). Etymology: ME f. ON their(r)a of them, genit. pl. of sá THE, THAT

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

She She, pron. [sing. nom. She; poss. Her. or Hers; obj. Her; pl. nom. They; poss. Theiror Theirs; obj. Them.] [OE. she, sche, scheo, scho, AS. se['o], fem. of the definite article, originally a demonstrative pronoun; cf. OS. siu, D. zij, G. sie, OHG. siu, s[=i], si, Icel. s[=u], sj[=a], Goth. si she, s[=o], fem. article, Russ. siia, fem., this, Gr. ?, fem. article, Skr. s[=a], sy[=a]. The possessive her or hers, and the objective her, are from a different root. See Her.] 1. This or that female; the woman understood or referred to; the animal of the female sex, or object personified as feminine, which was spoken of. She loved her children best in every wise. --Chaucer. Then Sarah denied, . . . for she was afraid. --Gen. xviii. 15. 2. A woman; a female; -- used substantively. [R.] Lady, you are the cruelest she alive. --Shak. Note: She is used in composition with nouns of common gender, for female, to denote an animal of the female sex; as, a she-bear; a she-cat.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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 Scandinavian use. See That.] The possessive case of the personal pronoun they; as, their houses; their country. Note: The possessive takes the form theirs (?) when the noun to which it refers is not expressed, but implied or understood; as, our land is richest, but theirs is best cultivated. Nothing but the name of zeal appears 'Twixt our best actions and the worst of theirs. --Denham.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

He He (h[=e]), pron. [nom. He; poss. His (h[i^]z); obj. Him (h[i^]m); pl. nom. They ([th][=a]); poss. Their or Theirs ([th][^a]rz or [th][=a]rz); obj. Them ([th][e^]m).] [AS. h?, masc., he['o], fem., hit, neut.; pl. h[=i], or hie, hig; akin to Ofries. hi, D. hij, OS. he, hi, G. heute to-day, Goth. himma, dat. masc., this, hina, accus. masc., and hita, accus. neut., and prob. to L. his this. [root]183. Cf. It.] 1. The man or male being (or object personified to which the masculine gender is assigned), previously designated; a pronoun of the masculine gender, usually referring to a specified subject already indicated. Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. --Gen. iii. 16. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; him shalt thou serve. --Deut. x. 20. 2. Any one; the man or person; -- used indefinitely, and usually followed by a relative pronoun. He that walketh with wise men shall be wise. --Prov. xiii. 20. 3. Man; a male; any male person; -- in this sense used substantively. --Chaucer. I stand to answer thee, Or any he, the proudest of thy sort. --Shak. Note: When a collective noun or a class is referred to, he is of common gender. In early English, he referred to a feminine or neuter noun, or to one in the plural, as well as to noun in the masculine singular. In composition, he denotes a male animal; as, a he-goat.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. Note: 'Their' is the third person plural possessive determiner. 1. 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 announced their engagement... Horses were poking their heads over their stall doors. DET 2. You use their instead of 'his or her' to indicate that something belongs or relates to a person without saying whether that person is a man or a woman. Some people think this use is incorrect. Every member will receive their own 'Welcome to Labour' brochure. DET