I. (th)əm, ə m, (|)them pronoun, objective case of they
Etymology: Middle English them; partly from tham, from Old English thǣm, thām, dative plural demonstrative pron. & definite article; partly from theim, from Old Norse, dative plural demonstrative & personal pron.; akin to Old English thæt, neuter demonstrative pron. & definite article — more at that
1. : they I 1, 3:
a. — used as indirect object of a verb
men … who, as the fields and woods have given them birth, will build their savage fortunes only there — William Wordsworth
b. — used as object of a preposition
to provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States — U.S. Constitution
c. — used as direct object of a verb
you do not have to understand someone in order to love them — Lawrence Durrell
they say things are going from bad to worse, but for my part, let them say what they like
d. — used in comparisons after than and as when the first term in the comparison is the direct or indirect object of a verb or the object of a preposition
would hurt us as much as them
giving you better terms than them
easier for you than them
e. — used in absolute constructions especially together with a prepositional phrase, adjective, or participle
them being my friends, I did as they asked
f. — used by speakers on all educational levels and by many reputable writers though disapproved by some grammarians in the predicate after forms of be, in comparisons after than and as when the first term in the comparison is the subject of a verb, and in other positions where it is itself neither the subject of a verb nor the object of a verb or preposition
it is them
we are as efficient as them
did your parents say you could go? Not them
g. — used in substandard speech and formerly also by reputable writers as part of the compound subject of a verb
your safety, for the which myself and them bend their best studies — Shakespeare
h. — used like the adjective their with a gerund by speakers and writers on all educational levels though disapproved by some grammarians
whether there are any objections to them smoking — Noreen Routledge
2. : those — used especially as antecedent to a relative pronoun
the best of them that speak this speech — Shakespeare
— used as the subject of a verb in substandard speech, though formerly also by reputable writers
them that like that sort of thing are welcome to it
3. : themselves — used reflexively as indirect object of a verb
a folk that had founded them homes round wintry Dodona — W.B.Smith & Walter Miller
or object of a preposition
people that have their wits about them
or archaically as direct object of a verb
like bride and groom devesting them for bed — Shakespeare
II. ˈthem adjective
substandard : those
take them dirty boots off — Helen Eustis
them box pleats … is the latest thing — Ellen Glasgow