people

peoples; peopled; peopling

Human beings are people. Individuals, folks, humankind — we're all people.

The word people is usually a noun, as in: two or more humans. It can also mean "all the citizens," as in a political leader who understands the needs of the people. People can also be a verb meaning "to inhabit or fill with people," as in: we need to people the empty seats so that tonight's speaker isn't disappointed with a small audience.

Definitions of people
  1. noun
    (plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
    “old people”
    “there were at least 200 people in the audience”
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    peoples
    the human beings of a particular nation or community or ethnic group
    age bracket, age group, cohort
    a group of people having approximately the same age
    ancients
    people who lived in times long past (especially during the historical period before the fall of the Roman Empire in western Europe)
    baffled
    people who are frustrated and perplexed
    blind
    people who have severe visual impairments, considered as a group
    blood
    people viewed as members of a group
    brave
    people who are brave
    cautious, timid
    people who are fearful and cautious
    business people, businesspeople
    people who transact business (especially business executives)
    damned
    people who are condemned to eternal punishment
    dead
    people who are no longer living
    living
    people who are still living
    deaf
    people who have severe hearing impairments
    defeated, discomfited
    people who are defeated
    disabled, handicapped
    people collectively who are crippled or otherwise physically handicapped
    doomed, lost
    people who are destined to die soon
    enemy
    any hostile group of people
    episcopacy, episcopate
    the collective body of bishops
    common people, folk, folks
    people in general (often used in the plural)
    free, free people
    people who are free
    homebound
    people who are confined to their homes
    enlightened, initiate
    people who have been introduced to the mysteries of some field or activity
    uninitiate
    people who have not been introduced to the mysteries of some field or activity
    developmentally challenged, mentally retarded, retarded
    people collectively who are mentally retarded
    network army
    a group of like-minded people united by the internet; a new kind of social or political of business group that may exert broad influence on a shared concern
    nationality
    people having common origins or traditions and often comprising a nation
    peanut gallery
    (figurative) people whose criticisms are regarded as irrelevant or insignificant (resembling uneducated people who throw peanuts on the stage to express displeasure with a performance)
    pocket
    a small isolated group of people
    retreated
    people who have retreated
    sick
    people who are sick
    tradespeople
    people engaged in trade
    maimed, wounded
    people who are wounded
    migration
    a group of people migrating together (especially in some given time period)
    class, social class, socio-economic class, stratum
    people having the same social, economic, or educational status
    country, land, nation
    the people who live in a nation or country
    poor, poor people
    people without possessions or wealth (considered as a group)
    rich, rich people
    people who have possessions and wealth (considered as a group)
    populace, public, world
    people in general considered as a whole
    population
    the people who inhabit a territory or state
    coevals, contemporaries, generation
    all the people living at the same time or of approximately the same age
    lobby
    the people who support some common cause or business or principle or sectional interest
    business, clientele, patronage
    customers collectively
    rank and file
    people who constitute the main body of any group
    smart money
    people who are highly experienced or who have inside information
    unconfessed
    people who have not confessed
    unemployed, unemployed people
    people who are involuntarily out of work (considered as a group)
    womankind
    women as distinguished from men
    chosen people
    any people believing themselves to be chosen by God
    aged, elderly
    people who are old collectively
    young, youth
    young people collectively
    country people, countryfolk
    people raised in or living in a rural environment; rustics
    the halt
    (archaic) lame persons collectively
    gentlefolk
    people of good family and breeding and high social status
    grass roots
    the common people at a local level (as distinguished from the centers of political activity)
    home folk
    folks from your own home town
    homeless
    poor people who unfortunately do not have a home to live in
    slain
    people who have been slain (as in battle)
    domain, world
    people in general; especially a distinctive group of people with some shared interest
    age class
    people in the same age range
    agriculture
    the class of people engaged in growing food
    brotherhood, fraternity, sodality
    people engaged in a particular occupation
    estate, estate of the realm, the three estates
    a major social class or order of persons regarded collectively as part of the body politic of the country (especially in the United Kingdom) and formerly possessing distinct political rights
    home front
    the civilian population (and their activities) of a country at war
    admass
    the segment of the public that is easily influenced by mass media (chiefly British)
    labor, labour, proletariat, working class
    a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages
    lower class, underclass
    the social class lowest in the social hierarchy
    bourgeoisie, middle class
    the social class between the lower and upper classes
    booboisie
    class consisting of all those who are considered boobs
    commonality, commonalty, commons
    a class composed of persons lacking clerical or noble rank
    peasantry
    the class of peasants
    demimonde
    a class of woman not considered respectable because of indiscreet or promiscuous behavior
    underworld
    the criminal class
    yeomanry
    class of small freeholders who cultivated their own land
    youth culture
    young adults (a generational unit) considered as a cultural class or subculture
    caste
    a social class separated from others by distinctions of hereditary rank or profession or wealth
    caste
    (Hinduism) a hereditary social class among Hindus; stratified according to ritual purity
    peer group
    contemporaries of the same status
    upper class, upper crust
    the class occupying the highest position in the social hierarchy
    ninja
    a class of 14th century Japanese who were trained in martial arts and were hired for espionage and assassinations
    rabble, ragtag, ragtag and bobtail, riffraff
    disparaging terms for the common people
    firing line
    the most advanced and responsible group in an activity
    immigrant class
    recent immigrants who are lumped together as a class by their low socioeconomic status in spite of different cultural backgrounds
    center
    politically moderate persons; centrists
    old school
    a class of people favoring traditional ideas
    market
    the customers for a particular product or service
    craft, trade
    people who perform a particular kind of skilled work
    needy
    needy people collectively
    fair sex, woman, womanhood
    women as a class
    Hebrews, Israelites
    the ethnic group claiming descent from Abraham and Isaac (especially from Isaac's son Jacob); the nation whom God chose to receive his revelation and with whom God chose to make a covenant (Exodus 19)
    Dutch, Dutch people
    the people of the Netherlands
    British, British people, Brits
    the people of Great Britain
    English, English people
    the people of England
    Irish, Irish people
    people of Ireland or of Irish extraction
    French, French people
    the people of France
    Spanish, Spanish people
    the people of Spain
    Swiss, Swiss people
    the natives or inhabitants of Switzerland
    type of:
    group, grouping
    any number of entities (members) considered as a unit
  2. noun
    the body of citizens of a state or country
    “the Spanish people”
    synonyms: citizenry
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    country people, countryfolk
    people living in the same country; compatriots
    Achaean, Arcado-Cyprians
    the ancient Greek inhabitants of Achaea
    Aeolian
    the ancient Greek inhabitants of Aeolia
    Dorian
    the ancient Greek inhabitants of Doris who entered Greece from the north about 1100 BC
    Ionian
    the ancient Greek inhabitants of Attica and related regions in Ionia
    electorate
    the body of enfranchised citizens; those qualified to vote
    governed
    the body of people who are citizens of a particular government
    type of:
    group, grouping
    any number of entities (members) considered as a unit
  3. noun
    the common people generally
    “power to the people”
    synonyms: hoi polloi, mass, masses, multitude, the great unwashed
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    laity, temporalty
    in Christianity, members of a religious community that do not have the priestly responsibilities of ordained clergy
    audience
    the part of the general public interested in a source of information or entertainment
    followers, following
    a group of followers or enthusiasts
    readership
    the audience reached by written communications (books or magazines or newspapers etc.)
    TV audience, viewers, viewing audience
    the audience reached by television
    claque
    a group of followers hired to applaud at a performance
    faithful
    any loyal and steadfast following
    fandom
    the fans of a sport or famous person
    type of:
    group, grouping
    any number of entities (members) considered as a unit
  4. noun
    members of a family line
    “his people have been farmers for generations”
    “are your people still alive?”
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    type of:
    family, family line, folk, kinfolk, kinsfolk, phratry, sept
    people descended from a common ancestor
  5. verb
    fill with people
    “Stalin wanted to people the empty steppes”
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    type of:
    populate
    fill with inhabitants
  6. verb
    furnish with people
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    type of:
    dwell, inhabit, live, populate
    inhabit or live in; be an inhabitant of
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘people'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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