its
/ɪʔ.s/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: Zipf frequency 6.14 in modern English
3
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
det
Belonging to it.
noun
plural of it
noun
Example Sentences
- "The manner wherewith our Lawes assay to moderate the foolish and vaine expences of table-cheare and apparell, seemeth contrarie to it's end."
- "since I have been at the Pains to write it, if he consents to it's being published I will follow my Friend's Advice, and chiefly yours."
- "That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land. (originally "of it own accord" in the 1611 first edition)"
- "They descended the hill, crossed the bridge, and drove to the door; and, while examining the nearer aspect of the house, all her apprehensions of meeting its owner returned."
- "The Chinese government is at war with its own people."
- "Nara and its deer are so closely associated that the light-brown colored animals are pictured in the city’s tourism ads, on buses, train tickets and more."
Etymology
Equivalent to it + -s (possessive marker). From the earlier form it's (it + -'s), which is now considered nonstandard. Began to displace his as the possessive of the neuter pronoun in the Middle English period; had fully displaced it by the 1700s.
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ɪʔ.s/