them
/ˈðɛm/pronoun, noun, determiner
them is spelled T-H-E-M: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 1,549 times per million words in written English, the 73rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a pronoun, them means “Used as the direct object of a verb” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in them?
| Letters | 4: T-H-E-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 1,549 times per million words; the 73rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is them?
Them appears 1,549 times per million words in written English, the 73rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce them?
- /ˈðɛm/
- [ˈðɪm]
- [ˈðʌm]
Them has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-them.ogg, En-us-them-unstressed.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with them?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as them.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: meth.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of them
- of they
- thems plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does them mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
pronoun
- 1
Used as the direct object of a verb.
She treated them for a cold.
- 2
Used as the indirect object of a verb.
She wrote them a letter.
- 3
Used as the object of a preposition.
Give it to them.
- 4
colloquialnonstandardAs a grammatical subject or object when joined with a conjunction.
[...] and now them and the Goo Goo Dolls are playing together.
- 5
Used in isolation or apposition, or (sometimes proscribed) as the complement of the copula (be).
Who was there? –Them.
- 6
Used as the direct object of a verb.
If a student has an inappropriate question, whatever you do, do not berate them.
- 7
Used as the indirect object of a verb.
If one of my patients calls, please bring them their dinner.
- 8
Used as the object of a preposition.
If someone comes and asks for the ticket, just give it to them.
noun
- 1
Synonym of they (“a non-binary person”).
determiner
- 1
Those.
Gimme two of them yellow ones.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Them in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | les, leur |
| German | ihnen, sie |
| Portuguese | os, lhes, as , ile, elu |
| Spanish | a ellos, a ellas, los, las, les |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does them come from?
From Middle English þem, from Old Norse þeim.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).