this

1 of 3

pronoun

ˈt͟his How to pronounce this (audio)
t͟həs
plural these ˈt͟hēz How to pronounce this (audio)
1
a(1)
: the person, thing, or idea that is present or near in place, time, or thought or that has just been mentioned
these are my hands
(2)
: what is stated in the following phrase, clause, or discourse
I can only say this: it wasn't here yesterday
b
: this time or place
expected to return before this
2
a
: the one nearer or more immediately under observation or discussion
this is iron and that is tin
b
: the one more recently referred to

this

2 of 3

adjective

plural these
1
a
: being the person, thing, or idea that is present or near in place, time, or thought or that has just been mentioned
this book is mine
early this morning
b
: constituting the immediately following part of the present discourse
c
: constituting the immediate past or future
friends all these years
d
: being one not previously mentioned
used especially in narrative to give a sense of immediacy or vividness
then this guy runs in
had this urge to go shopping
2
: being the nearer at hand or more immediately under observation or discussion
this car or that one

this

3 of 3

adverb

: to the degree or extent indicated by something in the immediate context or situation
didn't expect to wait this long

Examples of this in a Sentence

Pronoun This is my favorite T-shirt. Anything would be better than this. “What's this right here?” “It's a very rare gold coin.” Would you take a look at this, please? All of this is mine. This is the most fun I've had in years! “It will be difficult.” “This is true.” What is the meaning of this? This is silver and that is gold. This is my jacket and that's yours. Adjective some of the best restaurants are on this side of town Adverb We've waited this long for the pizza, we might as well stay until it's ready. I need a nail about this long.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adverb
But a narrative this messy needed more razzle-dazzle. Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2024 Before Tuesday, abnormally dry conditions in California remained in the 3% range since Dec. 5. California has not seen conditions this dry since Aug. 15, when 25.44% of the state was considered abnormally dry. Brianna Taylor, Sacramento Bee, 2 Feb. 2024 In their 66 years of playing baseball in Los Angeles, the Dodgers have never fielded a pitching staff with numbers this bad. Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2023 Having two volcanoes this close and both in a state of unrest is very unusual in Alaska, Power said, even though there are such occurrences elsewhere in the world. Mark Thiessen, Anchorage Daily News, 11 Mar. 2023 Lead researcher Ivo Labbe of Australia’s Swinburne University of Technology and his team expected to find little baby galaxies this close to the dawn of the universe – not these whoppers. Marcia Dunn, The Christian Science Monitor, 23 Feb. 2023 Will Taylor Swift always be this close to a courtroom? Brendan Morrow, The Week, 26 Aug. 2022 The industry also expected it, just not this quickly, not in the third year of a complete rebuild of one of baseball’s last old-school franchises. Dylan Hernández Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'this.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Pronoun

Middle English, pronoun & adjective, from Old English thes (masculine), this (neuter); akin to Old High German dese this, Old English thæt that

First Known Use

Pronoun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adverb

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of this was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near this

Cite this Entry

“This.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/this. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

this

1 of 3 pronoun
(ˈ)t͟his How to pronounce this (audio)
t͟həs
plural these (ˈ)t͟hēz How to pronounce this (audio)
1
: the person, thing, or idea that is present or near in place, time, or thought or that has just been mentioned
these are my friends
2
: the one nearer
this is iron and that is tin

this

2 of 3 adjective
plural these
1
: being the one that is present or near in place, time, or thought or that has just been mentioned
this book is mine
early this morning
friends all these years
2
: the nearer at hand
this car or that one
I like these colors better than those

this

3 of 3 adverb
: to the degree suggested by something in the present situation
didn't expect to wait this long

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