# person

/ˈpɝsən/ (US) · /pˈɜːsən/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/person
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 2. the physical body

noun · CEFR B2 · Formal

your physical body and the clothes you are wearing.

For teachers: the physical body of a human being, often in the context of carrying items or physical presence.

- The police officer asked if he had any weapons on his person.
- The security protocol requires that all visitors keep their identification badges visible on their person at all times while inside the facility.

Usage: Usually follows the preposition 'on'.

### 3. legal entity

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical · Formal

a human or a company that has legal rights and duties.

For teachers: any individual or formal organisation, such as a corporation, that has standing and recognition before a court of law.

- Under the law, a large corporation is treated as a person with certain rights.
- The court had to determine whether the trust could be classified as a legal person for the purposes of the tax dispute.

### 4. grammar category

noun · CEFR B1 · Technical

a way to show if you are talking about yourself, the listener, or someone else.

For teachers: a linguistic category used to distinguish between the speaker (first person), the addressee (second person), and others (third person).

- In English, 'I' is the first person and 'you' is the second person.
- The novelist chose to write the entire memoir in the third person to create a sense of emotional distance from the events described.

Usage: Commonly used with 'first', 'second', or 'third'.

### 6. to staff

verb · CEFR C1 · Formal

to provide a place or a machine with the people needed to run it.

For teachers: to supply a station, vehicle, or organisation with a crew or staff; used as a gender-neutral alternative to 'man'.

- We need to person the information desk during the busy lunch hour.
- The agency struggled to person the remote observation posts during the winter months due to the extreme weather conditions.

Usage: Transitive verb taking a direct object.

## Examples

- She is a very kind person.
- Each person in the group must show their ticket before entering the theater.
- The law treats a corporation as a legal person, granting it certain rights and responsibilities similar to those of a human individual.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.