English Word Reference Free

them

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

4 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "them", 4-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "them" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "them" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

them is aEnglishpron. It means: Those ones. Pronounced /ˈðɛm/. It ranks #71 in English word frequency. Often confused with TM and tom.

Key facts for them
PropertyValue
Headwordthem
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechPron
IPA/ˈðɛm/
Letters4
Frequency rank#71
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of them in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for them is 4 letters long, classified as apron, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈðɛm/. Corpus data places it at rank #71 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language.Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 6 documented wrong-spelling variants for them, with forms such as "htem", "tehm", and "themm". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "TM", "tom", "tie", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Old Norse þeimbor. Middle English þem English them From Middle English þem, from Old Norse þeim. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is them, spelled T-H-E-M, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Those ones.
  2. 2
    Those ones.
  3. 3
    Those ones.
  4. 4
    Those ones.
  5. 5
    Those ones.
  6. 6
    A single person, previously mentioned, whose gender is unknown, irrelevant, or (since 21st c.) non-binary.
  7. 7
    A single person, previously mentioned, whose gender is unknown, irrelevant, or (since 21st c.) non-binary.
  8. 8
    A single person, previously mentioned, whose gender is unknown, irrelevant, or (since 21st c.) non-binary.
  9. 9
    A single person, previously mentioned, whose gender is unknown, irrelevant, or (since 21st c.) non-binary.
  10. 10
    A single person, previously mentioned, whose gender is unknown, irrelevant, or (since 21st c.) non-binary.
  11. 11
    They or those.

Etymology

Etymology tree Old Norse þeimbor. Middle English þem English them From Middle English þem, from Old Norse þeim.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: htem,tehm,themm,thhem,thme,tthem

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for them

Misspelling Variants of "them"

htem4tehm4themm5thhem5thme4tthem5
Misspelling Variants of "them"

Frequency rank: #71 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "them"?
"them" is spelled T-H-E-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈðɛm/.
What does "them" mean?
As a pron, "them" means: Those ones.
What words are commonly confused with "them"?
"them" is commonly confused with "TM", "tom", "tie". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "them"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "them" is /ˈðɛm/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "them"?
Etymology tree Old Norse þeimbor. Middle English þem English them From Middle English þem, from Old Norse þeim. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter T in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.