■ pronoun [ third person plural ]
1》 used to refer to two or more people or things previously mentioned or easily identified.
↘people in general.
↘ informal people in authority regarded collectively.
2》 used to refer to a person of unspecified sex (in place of either ‘he’ or ‘he or she’).
Origin
ME: from ON their , nominative plural masculine of sá .
Usage
It is now widely held that the traditional use of he to refer to a person of either sex is outdated and sexist; the alternative, he or she , can be clumsy. It is now generally acceptable, therefore, to use ~ (with its counterparts them , their , and themselves ) instead. This is especially the case where ~ follows an indefinite pronoun such as anyone or someone ( anyone can join if ~ are a resident ). In view of the growing acceptance of ~ , it is used in this dictionary in many cases where he would have been used formerly.