persons

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɜː.sənz/
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈpɝ.sənz/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

persons

1. (now chiefly formal or law) plural of person, used to refer to them individually, rather than as a group; contrast people
   • 2007 May 14: The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor, Current Population Survey Frequently Asked Questions — Question 5: “Who is counted as unemployed?”

     Persons are classified as unemployed if they do not have a job, have actively looked for work in the prior 4 weeks, and are currently available for work.

   • 2013 May-June, Charles T. Ambrose, “Alzheimer’s Disease”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 200:

     Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems— […]. Such a slow-release device containing angiogenic factors could be placed on the pia mater covering the cerebral cortex and tested in persons with senile dementia in long term studies.

   Which persons are responsible for this mess?

Usage notes

• Today, many major style guides recommend people rather than persons. For example, the Associated Press and the New York Times recommend "people" except in quotations and set phrases. Under the traditional distinction, which Garner says is pedantic, persons describes a finite, known number of individuals, rather than the collective term people. Persons is more used in technical and legal contexts. For example, a crime was committed by 'a person or persons unknown', and in grammar 'I' and 'you' are the first and second persons.

Verb

persons

1. third-person singular simple present indicative of person

Anagrams

• Posners, Presson, press on, spreons

Danish

Noun

persons c

1. indefinite genitive singular of person

Swedish

Noun

persons

1. indefinite genitive singular of person

Anagrams

• Persson, porsens