DictionaryAI

human

HYOO-muhn/ˈhjuː.mən/

Noun pluralhumans

6 meanings of human

Practice

  1. 1
    of peopleadjective
    Relating to people as a species: belonging to Homo sapiens, or to the closely related extinct members of the genus Homo.

    The fossil showed clearly human features in the jaw and teeth.

    These tools are among the earliest signs of human activity.

    UsageMostly before a noun: human activity, the human body, human rights.

    Oppositenonhuman

    Note

    The classifying adjective, and the oldest form of the word: it came through French humain from Latin hūmānus, "of man." The spelling wandered for centuries. Marlowe writes of "humaine race," and Richard Allestree in 1660 of "humane affairs." Human became the usual spelling only in the early 18th century.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 7 facts

  2. 2
    person (species)nouncountable
    A person; a member of the species Homo sapiens, as distinct from other animals, from machines, or from imaginary beings.

    Of all the primates, the human is the only one found on every continent.

    Biologists classify the human as a great ape alongside chimpanzees and gorillas.

    UsageMost natural in the plural for the species: humans and other apes. For one individual, person or human being is usual.

    Similarperson, individual, mortal

    Note

    In its narrowest biological use, the noun names one species, Homo sapiens, placed among the apes. For the wider genus with its extinct relatives, see the looser genus-wide use.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

  3. 3
    adjective
    Possessing the nature, traits, or qualities that belong to people.

    Her warmth and humor made the robot seem strangely human.

    Compassion is one of our most human qualities.

    UsageSet phrases: to err is human, only human. Not the same as humane (kind).

    Oppositeinhuman, robotic

    Note

    Here human names a nature rather than a species, so it takes degrees: more human, most human, strangely human. It points to frailty as often as warmth, as in "To err is human" or "the classic pattern of human weakness" in Margery Allingham's The China Governess (1963). It also has a fixed excusing frame, "wouldn't be human if…", used by Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. in the Wall Street Journal (2011) to forgive a failing.

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • “To err is human” is an attested quotation. gutenberg.org
    • Margery Allingham wrote The China Governess, first published in 1963. en.wikipedia.org
    • The quoted words occur in The China Governess. en.wiktionary.org
    • Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. used “wouldn't be human if” in the Wall Street Journal in 2011, excusing Google's desire for profits. en.wiktionary.org

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    nouncountable
    Any hominid belonging to the genus Homo.

    Homo erectus was an early human that spread out of Africa.

    Researchers still debate which species was the first human.

    Similarhominin, hominid

  2. 5
    calling someonenouncountable
    A form of address directed at a person, naming only their species and implying it is their sole noteworthy trait.

    "Come no closer, human," the towering creature warned.

    "Your kind always fails, human," the alien sneered.

    Note

    A form of address with a sneer built in: the speaker is not human and wants that known. It stands where a name would go, set off by commas, as in "Greetings, human!" and "Does this shock you, human?" from Alex Culang and Raynato Castro's webcomic Buttersafe (2011). Its comedy or menace comes from shrinking the listener to a species.

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

  3. 6
    verbcolloquial
    To behave or function as a human; now mostly humorous, as in can't human, said by someone too tired to cope with ordinary life.

    Give me a minute; I can't human until I've had my coffee.

    There are, then, many ways of humaning: these are the ways along which we make ourselves and, collaboratively, one another.
    2013, Biosocial Becomings

    Similarhumanize

    Note

    The verb is old but was long rare: Ambrose Bierce, in his essay "Music," has the race going "on humaning."

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Human has a historical use as a rare verb. en.wiktionary.org
    • Ambrose Bierce's essay "Music" contains the words "on humaning," describing the race. gutenberg.org

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of human apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Late Middle English humaigne and humain, borrowed through Middle and Old French humain ("of or belonging to man"), from Latin hūmānus ("of man, human"). The spelling "human" has been the usual one since the early 18th century, and the word is probably not etymologically related to "man."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts