It
[ɪt]
Definition
(pron.) The neuter pronoun of the third person, corresponding to the masculine pronoun he and the feminine she, and having the same plural (they, their or theirs, them).
(pron.) As a substance for any noun of the neuter gender; as, here is the book, take it home.
(pron.) As a demonstrative, especially at the beginning of a sentence, pointing to that which is about to be stated, named, or mentioned, or referring to that which apparent or well known; as, I saw it was John.
(pron.) As an indefinite nominative for a impersonal verb; as, it snows; it rains.
(pron.) As a substitute for such general terms as, the state of affairs, the condition of things, and the like; as, how is it with the sick man?
(pron.) As an indefinite object after some intransitive verbs, or after a substantive used humorously as a verb; as, to foot it (i. e., to walk).
Edited by Emily
Definition
pron. the thing spoken of.
Edited by Glenn
Examples
- She had always a new bonnet on, and flowers bloomed perpetually in it, or else magnificent curling ostrich feathers, soft and snowy as camellias. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- Would to heaven I had never seen it! Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- It was already dark when we reached it. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- Yet it was a hard time for sensitive, high-spirited Jo, who meant so well and had apparently done so ill. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- I have something beyond this, but I will call it a defect, not an endowment, if it leads me to misery, while ye are happy. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Father's a sweeter singer than ever; you'd never have forgotten it, if you'd aheard him just now. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- I wired to Bristol for it last night. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- I am also to take it as a matter of fact that the proposal to withdraw from the engagement came, in the first instance, from YOU? Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- It was generally believed that there would be a flurry; that some of the extreme Southern States would go so far as to pass ordinances of secession. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- My, it might be a description of Watson! Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- Himself has hitherto sufficed to the toil, and the toil draws near its close: his glorious sun hastens to its setting. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- But this base attempt to injure Mr. Pickwick recoiled upon the head of its calumnious author. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- Until Edison made his wonderful invention in 1877, the human race was entirely without means for preserving or passing on to posterity its own linguistic utterances or any other vocal sound. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- So old an art, and so great and continuous a need for its products necessarily must have resulted in much development and progress. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- When the iron parts with its carbon it loses its fluidity and becomes plastic and coherent, and is formed into balls called _blooms_. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- A short walk brought us to a secluded road fringed with pleasant houses, each standing in its own grounds. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- Even the children were instructed, each to dip a wooden spoon into Mr. Micawber's pot, and pledge us in its contents. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- Most of its issues are still undecided among Christians to this day. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Heaven was cloudless, and grand with the quiver of its living fires. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- Notwithstanding its simple action, its structure is complicated by a large amount of adding mechanism. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- They are purging more than the epsom salts in this epoch. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- They possess significance only as movements toward something away from what is now going on. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- He bucked her out along the shore Qf the lake and as soon as she was reasonable they went on back along the trail. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- The Unquenchables had done their best to be worthy of the name, for like elves they had worked by night and conjured up a comical surprise. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- They have a kind of hard flints, which, by grinding against other stones, they form into instruments, that serve instead of wedges, axes, and hammers. Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
- Yes,' said Sam, 'and I vish they'd bring out the have-his-carcase. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- In textile fabrics they have never been surpassed. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- They mostly began to reign as old men, and their reigns were short, averaging less than two years each. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- They are a smaller horde than the Tharks but much more ferocious. Edgar Rice Burroughs. A Princess of Mars.
- They reached a curtained door, behind which sounded lovely music. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
Editor: Myra