me

[ mee ]
See synonyms for me on Thesaurus.com
pronoun
  1. the objective case of I, used as a direct or indirect object: They asked me to the party. Give me your hand.

  2. Informal. (used instead of the pronoun I in the predicate after the verb to be): It's me.

  1. Informal. (used instead of the pronoun my before a gerund): Did you hear about me getting promoted?

adjective
  1. of or involving an obsessive interest in one's own satisfaction: the me decade.

Origin of me

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English me, Old English (dative and accusative singular); cognate with Dutch mij, Old High German mir; akin to Greek emé, Irish “I, me,” Latin mē, Russian menjá

Grammar notes for me

2. A traditional rule governing the case of personal pronouns after forms of the verb to be is that the nominative or subjective form ( I; she; he; we; they ) must be chosen. Some 400 years ago, owing to the feeling that the postverb position in a sentence is object rather than subject territory, me and other objective pronouns ( him; her; us; them ) began to replace the subjective forms after be, so that It is I became It is me. Today such constructions— It's me. That's him. It must be them. —are almost universal in speech, the context in which they usually occur. In formal speech or edited writing, the subjective forms are used: It was I who first noticed the problem. My brother was the one who called our attention to the problem, but it wasn't he who solved it. It had been she at the window, not her husband.
Me and other objective forms have also replaced the subjective forms in speech in constructions like Me neither; Not us; Who, them? and in comparisons after as or than: She's no faster than him at getting the answers. When the pronoun is the subject of a verb that is expressed, the nominative forms are used: Neither did I. She's no faster than he is at getting the answers. See also than.
3. When a verb form ending in -ing functions as a noun, it is traditionally called a gerund: Walking is good exercise. She enjoys reading biographies. Usage guides have long insisted that gerunds, being nouns, must be preceded by the possessive form of the pronouns or nouns ( my; your; her; his; its; our; their; child's; author's ) rather than by the objective forms ( me; you; him; her; it; us; them ): The landlord objected to my (not me ) having guests late at night. Several readers were delighted at the author's (not author ) taking a stand on the issue. In standard practice, however, both objective and possessive forms appear before gerunds. Possessives are more common in formal edited writing, but the occurrence of objective forms is increasing; in informal writing and speech objective forms are more common: Many objections have been raised to the government (or government's ) allowing lumbering in national parks. “Does anyone object to me (or my ) reading this report aloud?” the moderator asked.

Words Nearby me

Other definitions for Me (2 of 5)

Me

abbreviationChemistry.

Other definitions for ME (3 of 5)

ME

abbreviation
  1. Maine (approved especially for use with zip code).

  1. Middle English. : Also M.E.

Other definitions for Me. (4 of 5)

Me.

abbreviation
  1. Maine.

Other definitions for M.E. (5 of 5)

M.E.

abbreviation
  1. (often lowercase) managing editor.

  2. Master of Education.

  1. Master of Engineering.

  2. Mechanical Engineer.

  3. Methodist Episcopal.

  4. Mining Engineer.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use me in a sentence

  • And yet these years spent in cafés and in studios have not turned them out into the world a devil-me-care lot of dreamers.

    The Real Latin Quarter | F. Berkeley Smith
  • Great fire at Eastport, me., by which the larger portion of the business part of the town was destroyed.

  • Desertion doesn't mean a sea of water between, it means an ocean of self-will and love-me-first between.

  • For he's the soul of honor, Thyrsis; and he can't help how he feels about me-any more than I can help it.

    Love's Pilgrimage | Upton Sinclair
  • Her silk parasol, of the blue of a forget-me-not, rested against her knee, and at her breast was a cream-tinted rose.

    The Rake's Progress | Marjorie Bowen

British Dictionary definitions for me (1 of 6)

me1

/ (miː, unstressed ) /


pronoun(objective)
  1. refers to the speaker or writer: that shocks me; he gave me the glass

  2. (when used an an indirect object) mainly US a dialect word for myself I want to get me a car

noun
  1. informal the personality of the speaker or writer or something that expresses it: the real me comes out when I'm happy

Origin of me

1
Old English (dative); compare Dutch, German mir, Latin (accusative), mihi (dative)

British Dictionary definitions for me (2 of 6)

me2

/ (miː) /


noun
  1. a variant spelling of mi

British Dictionary definitions for me (3 of 6)

me3

the internet domain name for
  1. Montenegro

British Dictionary definitions for Me (4 of 6)

Me

the chemical symbol for
  1. the methyl group

British Dictionary definitions for ME (5 of 6)

ME

abbreviation for
  1. Maine

  2. Marine Engineer

  1. Mechanical Engineer

  2. Methodist Episcopal

  3. Mining Engineer

  4. Middle English

  5. (in titles) Most Excellent

  6. myalgic encephalopathy

British Dictionary definitions for Me. (6 of 6)

Me.

abbreviation for
  1. Maine

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with me

me

see dear me; so help me.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.