pron. 1. a. Himself or herself. Used as a singular gender-neutral reflexive pronoun to refer to the one previously mentioned or implied, especially as a substitute for generic himself: “Relationships are hard, but all the work is worth it, unless the person you're with has totally let themself go” (John Metz). b. Used as a singular reflexive personal pronoun for someone who does not identify as either male or female. See Usage Note at they. 2. Nonstandard Themselves: “I was telling Bubber how he and my uncles owns the whole place themself” (Carson McCullers). |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.