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people definition

peo·ple (pē′pəl)

noun pl. peoples -·ples

    1. all the persons of a racial, national, religious, or linguistic group; nation, race, etc. the peoples of the world
    2. a group of persons with common traditional, historical, or cultural ties, as distinct from racial or political unity the Jewish people
  2. Archaic a group of creatures the ant people

Etymology: ME peple < Anglo-Fr poeple, people < OFr pople < L populus, nation, crowd < ?

plural noun

  1. person (sense )
  2. the persons belonging to a certain place, community, or class the people of Iowa, people of wealth
  3. the members of a group under the leadership, influence, or control of a particular person or body, as members of a group of servants, royal subjects, etc.
  4. the members of (someone's) class, occupation, set, race, tribe, etc. the miner spoke for his people
  5. one's relatives or ancestors; family
  6. persons without wealth, influence, privilege, or distinction; members of the populace
  7. the citizens or electorate of a state
  8. persons considered indefinitely people are funny
  9. human beings, as distinct from other animals

transitive verb peopled -·pled, peopling -·pling

to fill with or as with people; populate; stock

Etymology: Fr peupler < the n.

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms people idiom

telecom people definition - telecom

people Synonyms

people

n.

  1. Humankind

    humanity, mankind, the human race; see man 1.

  2. A body of persons having racial or social ties

    nationality, tribe, community; see race 2.

  3. The humbler portions of society

    mass, folk, proletariat, rabble, masses, plebeians, the multitude, the majority, democracy, crowd, submerged tenth, common people, common herd, rank and file, the underprivileged, underdogs, the public, the man in the street, commons, commonalty, hoi polloi (Greek), bourgeoisie (French), los de abajo (Spanish), riffraff*; rag, tag and bobtail*; the mob*, the herd*, the horde*, the many*, the great unwashed*, John Q. Public*, Jane Q. Public*.

  4. Family

    close relatives, kinsmen, siblings; see family 1.

  5. Society in general

    they, anybody, the public; see everybody.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

people Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • help: Is there still the same quality of support to help people come to terms with their condition?

Adjective modifier

  • young: People with AF over 65, or younger people with certain ' risk factors ' , have a medium risk.

Possessives

  • life: In the years we have been in business, we have influenced a lot of people's lives.

Preposition: of

  • age: It also is very entertaining and i think that people of all ages would like it.

Preposition: from

  • background: Applications are particularly welcome from women, people from ethnic minority backgrounds and disabled people.

Preposition: with

  • disability: The council says the changes will also be fairer to people with disabilities, who have now been given greater access to concessionary travel.
people usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

people quotes

   Nec audiendi qui solent dicere, vox populi, vox Dei, quum tumultuositas vulgi semper insaniae proxima sit. We should not listen to those who like to affirm that the voice of the people is the voice of God, for the tumult of the masses is truly close to madness.

-Alcuin

People would rather sleep their way through life than stayawake for it.

-Albee, Edward Franklin, III

I'm old fashioned. I don't believe in extra-marital relationships. I think people should mate for life, like pigeons or Catholics.

-Allen,Woody pseudonym of  Allen Stewart Konigsberg

people quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"people." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/people>

APA Style

people. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/people

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