transcription, транскрипция: [ pɜ:(r)s(ə)n ]
( people, persons)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
Note: The usual word for ‘more than one person’ is 'people'. The form 'persons' is used as the plural in formal or legal language.
1.
A person is a man, woman, or child.
At least one person died and several others were injured...
Everyone knows he’s the only person who can do the job...
The amount of sleep we need varies from person to person...
N-COUNT
2.
Persons is used as the plural of person in formal, legal, and technical writing.
...removal of the right of accused persons to remain silent...
N-PLURAL
3.
If you talk about someone as a person , you are considering them from the point of view of their real nature.
Robin didn’t feel good about herself as a person.
N-COUNT
4.
If someone says, for example, ‘ I’m an outdoor person ’ or ‘ I’m not a coffee person ’, they are saying whether or not they like that particular activity or thing. ( mainly SPOKEN )
I am not a country person at all. I prefer the cities.
N-COUNT : a supp N
5.
If you do something in person , you do it yourself rather than letting someone else do it for you.
She went to New York to receive the award in person.
PHRASE : PHR after v
6.
If you meet, hear, or see someone in person , you are in the same place as them, rather than, for example, speaking to them on the telephone, writing to them, or seeing them on television.
It was the first time she had seen him in person.
PHRASE : PHR after v
7.
Your person is your body. ( FORMAL )
The suspect had refused to give any details of his identity and had carried no documents on his person.
N-COUNT : poss N
8.
You can use in the person of when mentioning the name of someone you have just referred to in a more general or indirect way. ( WRITTEN )
We had a knowledgeable guide in the person of George Adams.
PHRASE : PHR n
9.
In grammar, we use the term first person when referring to ‘I’ and ‘we’, second person when referring to ‘you’, and third person when referring to ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘it’, ‘they’, and all other noun groups. Person is also used like this when referring to the verb forms that go with these pronouns and noun groups.
N-COUNT : usu supp N
see also first person , second person , third person