person
n. · v.-
1 the physical body (n.) B2 Upper Intermediate Formalyour physical body and the clothes you are wearing.
the physical body of a human being, often in the context of carrying items or physical presence.
ExampleThe police officer asked if he had any weapons on his person.
ExampleThe security protocol requires that all visitors keep their identification badges visible on their person at all times while inside the facility.
UsageUsually follows the preposition 'on'.
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2 legal entity (n.) C1 Advanced Technical Formal Lawa human or a company that has legal rights and duties.
any individual or formal organisation, such as a corporation, that has standing and recognition before a court of law.
ExampleUnder the law, a large corporation is treated as a person with certain rights.
ExampleThe court had to determine whether the trust could be classified as a legal person for the purposes of the tax dispute.
- entity
- legal party
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3 grammar category (n.) B1 Intermediate Technical Sciencea way to show if you are talking about yourself, the listener, or someone else.
a linguistic category used to distinguish between the speaker (first person), the addressee (second person), and others (third person).
ExampleIn English, 'I' is the first person and 'you' is the second person.
ExampleThe novelist chose to write the entire memoir in the third person to create a sense of emotional distance from the events described.
UsageCommonly used with 'first', 'second', or 'third'.
- grammatical person
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4 to staff (v.) C1 Advanced Formalto provide a place or a machine with the people needed to run it.
to supply a station, vehicle, or organisation with a crew or staff; used as a gender-neutral alternative to 'man'.
ExampleWe need to person the information desk during the busy lunch hour.
ExampleThe agency struggled to person the remote observation posts during the winter months due to the extreme weather conditions.
UsageTransitive verb taking a direct object.
From Middle English persoun, personne et al., from Anglo-Norman parsone, persoun et al. (Old French persone (“human being”), French personne), and its source Latin persōna (“mask used by actor; role, part, character”), perhaps a loanword from Etruscan 𐌘𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖 (φersu, “mask”). In this sense, displaced native man, which came to mean primarily "adult male" in Middle English; see Old English mann. Doublet of parson and persona.
- Nounperson
- Nounpersonification
- Nounpersonnel
- Adjectivepersonal
- 01
as the next person
To a reasonable degree; as much as a typical person.
- 02
morning person
A person who wakes up, without difficulty, early each morning and is alert and active during the first part of the day.
- 03
night person
A person whose preference or custom is to remain awake and active during the evening and early morning (night) hours, and who usually sleeps during part of the daytime.