it

pronoun

(used to represent an inanimate thing understood, previously mentioned, about to be mentioned, or present in the immediate context): It has whitewall tires and red upholstery. You can't tell a book by its cover.

(used to represent a person or animal understood, previously mentioned, or about to be mentioned whose gender is unknown or disregarded): It was the largest ever caught off the Florida coast. Who was it? It was John. The horse had its saddle on.

(used to represent a group understood or previously mentioned): The judge told the jury it must decide two issues.

(used to represent a concept or abstract idea understood or previously stated): It all started with Adam and Eve. He has been taught to believe it all his life.

(used to represent an action or activity understood, previously mentioned, or about to be mentioned): Since you don't like it, you don't have to go skiing.

(used as the impersonal subject of the verb to be, especially to refer to time, distance, or the weather): It is six o'clock. It is five miles to town. It was foggy.

(used in statements expressing an action, condition, fact, circumstance, or situation without reference to an agent): If it weren't for Edna, I wouldn't go.

(used in referring to something as the origin or cause of pain, pleasure, etc.): Where does it hurt? It looks bad for the candidate.

(used in referring to a source not specifically named or described): It is said that love is blind.

10.

(used in referring to the general state of affairs; circumstances, fate, or life in general): How's it going with you?

11.

(used as an anticipatory subject or object to make a sentence more eloquent or suspenseful or to shift emphasis): It is necessary that you do your duty. It was a gun that he was carrying.

12.

Informal. (used instead of the pronoun its before a gerund): It having rained for only one hour didn't help the crops.

noun

13.

(in children's games) the player called upon to perform some task, as, in tag, the one who must catch the other players.

14.

Slang.

sex appeal.

sexual intercourse.

00:10

It is always a great word to know.

So is quincunx. Does it mean:

a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.

an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Idioms

15.

get with it, Slang. to become active or interested: He was warned to get with it or resign.

16.

have it, Informal.

to love someone: She really has it bad for him.

to possess the requisite abilities for something; be talented, adept, or proficient: In this business youeither have it or you don't.

17.

with it, Slang.

aware of the latest fads, fashions, etc.; up-to-date.

attentive or alert: I'm just not with it early in the morning.

understanding or appreciative of something, as jazz.

Carnival Slang. being a member of the carnival.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English, variant of Middle English, Old English hit, neuter of he¹

Usage note
See me.

Dictionary.com Unabridged

noun British Informal.

sweet vermouth: gin and it.

Origin:
1930–35; It(alian vermouth)

Italian ( def 3 ).

information technology.

Italian.

Italy.

contraction of it is: It's starting to rain.

contraction of it has: It's been a long time.

Can be confused: it's, its.

Usage note
See contraction.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To it

Collins

World English Dictionary

it¹ (ɪt)

—*pron*
1.	refers to a nonhuman, animal, plant, or inanimate thing, or sometimes to a small baby: it looks dangerous; give it a bone
2.	refers to an unspecified or implied antecedent or to a previous or understood clause, phrase, etc: it is impossible; I knew it
3.	used to represent human life or experience either in totality or in respect of the present situation: how's it going?; I've had it; to brazen it out
4.	used as a formal subject (or object), referring to a following clause, phrase, or word: it helps to know the truth; I consider it dangerous to go on
5.	used in the nominative as the formal grammatical subject of impersonal verbs. When it functions absolutely in such sentences, not referring to any previous or following clause or phrase, the context is nearly always a description of the environment or of some physical sensation: it is raining; it hurts
6.	informal (used as complement with be) the crucial or ultimate point: the steering failed and I thought that was it

—n
7.	Compare he (in children's games) the player whose turn it is to try to touch another
8.	informal
	a. sexual intercourse
	b. sex appeal
9.	informal a desirable quality or ability: he's really got it

[Old English hit]

it²

—*the internet domain name for*
	Italy

IT

—*abbreviation for*
	information technology

It.

—*abbreviation for*
1.	Italian
2.	Italy

it's (ɪts)

—*contraction of*
	it is or it has

usage One of the commonest mistakes made in written English is the confusion of its and it's. You can see examples of this every day in books, magazines, and newspapers: its good for us; a smart case with it's own mirror, and even Cheng, and its' subsidiaries. Its refers to something belonging to or relating to a thing that has already been mentioned: the baby threw its rattle out of the pram. It's is a shortened way of saying it is or it has (the apostrophe indicates that a letter has been omitted: it's a lovely day; it's been a great weekend.

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

O.E. hit, neut. nom. & acc. of third pers. sing. pronoun, from P.Gmc. demonstrative base *khi- (cf. O.Fris. hit, Du. het, Goth. hita "it"), which is also the root of he. As gender faded in M.E., it took on the meaning "thing or animal spoken about before." The h- was lost due to being in an unemphasized

position, as in modern speech the h- in "give it to him," "ask her," "is only heard in the careful speech of the partially educated" [Weekley]. It "the sex act" is from 1611; meaning "sex appeal (especially in a woman)" first attested 1904 in works of Rudyard Kipling, popularized 1927 as title of a book by Elinor Glyn, and by application of It Girl to silent-film star Clara Bow (1905-1965). In children's games, meaning "the one who must tag the others" is attested from 1842.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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