PEOPLE • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of People

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/pˈipəl/ Listen

noun

People n.

1.

The body of persons who compose a community, tribe, nation, or race; an aggregate of individuals forming a whole; a community; a nation. "Unto him shall the gathering of the people be." "The ants are a people not strong." "Before many peoples, and nations, and tongues." "Earth's monarchs are her peoples." "A government of all the people, by all the people, for all the people." Note: Peopleis a collective noun, generally construed with a plural verb, and only occasionally used in the plural form (peoples), in the sense of nations or races.

2.

Persons, generally; an indefinite number of men and women; folks; population, or part of population; as, country people; sometimes used as an indefinite subject or verb, like on in French, and man in German; as, people in adversity. "People were tempted to lend by great premiums." "People have lived twenty-four days upon nothing but water."

3.

The mass of community as distinguished from a special class; the commonalty; the populace; the vulgar; the common crowd; as, nobles and people. "And strive to gain his pardon from the people."

4.

With a possessive pronoun:

(a)

One's ancestors or family; kindred; relations; as, my people were English.

(b)

One's subjects; fellow citizens; companions; followers. "You slew great number of his people."

Synonyms: People, Nation. When speaking of a state, we use people for the mass of the community, as distinguished from their rulers, and nation for the entire political body, including the rulers. In another sense of the term, nation describes those who are descended from the same stock; and in this sense the Germans regard themselves as one nation, though politically subject to different forms of government.

verb

People v. t. (past & past part. peopled; pres. part. peopling) To stock with people or inhabitants; to fill as with people; to populate. "Peopled heaven with angels." "As the gay motes that people the sunbeams."

See images of 'People'

Etymology of 'People'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"People" Quotes from Famous Books

... you?" retorted Matty—"Didn't I know betther than refuse you, when my father said the word when the divil was busy with him? Why did I marry you?—it's a pity I didn't refuse, and be murthered that night, maybe, as soon as the people's backs was turned. Oh, it's little you know of owld Jack Dwyer, or you wouldn't ask me that; but, though I'm afraid of him, I'm not afraid of you—so stand off ...

— Handy Andy, Vol. 2 - A Tale of Irish Life • Samuel Lover

... the vast lists of publications which his biographers and bibliographers have compiled, partly by industry and partly by imagination, by far the larger number of entries is of the pamphlet kind. Indeed, as most people know, Defoe did not take to the composition of the fiction which has made his name famous till very late in life. Born in the year 1661, he began pamphleteering when he was scarcely of age, and continued in that way (with occasional excursions into work larger in scale, but not very ...

— Political Pamphlets • George Saintsbury

... send his telegram to Aaron Poole, and all the boys set off on a hunt for the wild man. They covered the streets of the village and some of the roads on the outskirts, but without success. They met three people who had talked to the strange individual, and from what had passed Dave and his chums were sure that the man must have been ...

— Dave Porter At Bear Camp - The Wild Man of Mirror Lake • Edward Stratemeyer

... most of your first work will be done with pine, poplar, or other light-colored material, and, as many people prefer the furniture to be dark in color, you should be prepared ...

— Carpentry for Boys • J. S. Zerbe

... is the key of the whole enigma. The young girl has been playing her pranks; what people say about her and the king is true, then; our young master has been deceived; he ought to know it. Monsieur le comte has been to see the king, and has told him a piece of his mind; and then the king sent M. d'Artagnan ...

— Louise de la Valliere • Alexandre Dumas, Pere

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