identity
Pluralidentities
- 1Who a person or group is: the qualities and sense of self that make them different from others.
Like a fingerprint that belongs to only you and no one else.
Moving to a new country made her think hard about her own identity.
The team built a strong identity around hard work and trust.
UsageOften in a sense of identity and a strong identity.
Similarselfhood, individuality, personality
Note
- 2Who someone is or what something is, shown by facts such as a name.
You must show a photo ID to prove your identity at the bank.
The police still do not know the identity of the man in the video.
UsageOften in proof of identity, identity theft, and reveal someone's identity.
Note
- 3A name or made-up character that someone uses so other people know them in a certain way.
Like a mask you wear so people see the face you choose to show.
The spy used a false identity to cross the border.
On the internet, he writes under a different identity.
UsageOften a false identity or a new identity; you can write or live under one.
- 4In math, a special element that leaves another element unchanged when you combine the two.
Like adding zero: the other number stays just the same.
Zero is the identity when you add numbers, because adding zero changes nothing.
When you multiply, the number one acts as the identity.
Note
Less common meanings
- 5The state of two or more things being exactly the same.
Like finding that two copies of a photo are exactly the same.
The scientists found a 98 percent identity between the two genes.
Tests showed a complete identity between the two samples, so they came from one source.
UsageOften identity between two things or an identity of interests.
Similarsameness, uniformity, identicalness
Oppositedifference, dissimilarity, distinctness
Note
- 6In math, an equation that stays true no matter what numbers you put in.
Like a rule that always works, no matter which numbers you try.
The teacher showed that this rule is an identity, true for any number.
We use an identity to make the hard equation simpler.
- 7In math, a function that returns each value exactly as it was given.
Like a mirror that shows back exactly what stands in front of it.
The identity gives back whatever number you put in.
If you feed five into the identity, you get five out.
Note
- 8A person who is famous or well known to many people.
Like a person everyone in town knows by name.
He became a local identity after running the corner shop for forty years.
She is a well-loved identity in the small fishing town.
UsageOften a local identity or an old identity.
Similarcelebrity, personality
Note
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of identity apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
It comes from Latin "identitas", through Middle French "identité".
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Identity ultimately comes from Latin identitas. fr.wiktionary.org
- Middle French identité transmitted the word into English. en.wiktionary.org