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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

here.

In, on, or at this place (a place perceived to be close to the speaker); compare there.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adv/ˈhɪə̯/Received-Pronunciation/ˈhɪː/British, Southern, Standard/ˈhɪjə/British, Southern, Standard/ˈhɪɚ̯/Canada, General-American
  1. In, on, or at this place (a place perceived to be close to the speaker); compare there.

    not-comparable
    You wait here while I fetch my coat.
    Ms. Doe is not here at the moment.
  2. In, on, or at this place (a place perceived to be close to the speaker); compare there. At this point or stage (in a process, argument, narration, etc.)

    abstract · not-comparable
    I've had enough of peeling potatoes. I'm stopping here.
    Here endeth the lesson.
  3. In, on, or at this place (a place perceived to be close to the speaker); compare there. In this matter.

    abstract · not-comparable
    You say that all men are born equal, but here I must disagree with you.
  4. In, on, or at this place (a place perceived to be close to the speaker); compare there. Notionally at the speaker's location by virtue of happening now.

    not-comparable
    Flu season is here.
    Christmas will soon be here.
  5. In, on, or at this place (a place perceived to be close to the speaker); compare there. In this context.

    abstract · not-comparable
    Derivatives can refer to anything that is derived from something else, but here they refer specifically to functions that give the slope of the tangent line to a curve.
  6. In, on, or at this place (a place perceived to be close to the speaker); compare there. After the name of a person perceived as located close to the speaker, used familiarly to indicate that person.

    informal · not-comparable
    Jim here has been with the company for twenty years.
  7. In, on, or at this place (a place perceived to be close to the speaker); compare there. After certain determiners, especially 'this' and 'these', used to emphasise demonstrative sense; see also this here.

    dialectal · informal · not-comparable
    This here orange is too sour.
    Both 'ere buckets 'ave 'oles in 'em.
  8. To this place; used in place of the literary or archaic hither.

    not-comparable
    Please come here.
Where this word comes from

From Middle English her, from Old English hēr (“at this place”), from Proto-West Germanic *hēr, from Proto-Germanic *hē₂r, from *hiz + *-r, from Proto-Indo-European *kís, from *ḱe + *ís. Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian hier, West Frisian hjir, Dutch hier, German Low German hier, German hier, Danish her, Swedish här, Norwegian her, Faroese her, Icelandic hér. Also related to the English pronoun he (“this/that person”), and the words hither (“to this place”) and hence (“from this place”).

adj/ˈhɪə̯/Received-Pronunciation/ˈhɪː/British, Southern, Standard/ˈhɪjə/British, Southern, Standard/ˈhɪɚ̯/Canada, General-American
  1. Alive

    not-comparable
    I'm not dead yet! I'm still here!
Where this word comes from

From Middle English her, from Old English hēr (“at this place”), from Proto-West Germanic *hēr, from Proto-Germanic *hē₂r, from *hiz + *-r, from Proto-Indo-European *kís, from *ḱe + *ís. Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian hier, West Frisian hjir, Dutch hier, German Low German hier, German hier, Danish her, Swedish här, Norwegian her, Faroese her, Icelandic hér. Also related to the English pronoun he (“this/that person”), and the words hither (“to this place”) and hence (“from this place”).

noun/ˈhɪə̯/Received-Pronunciation/ˈhɪː/British, Southern, Standard/ˈhɪjə/British, Southern, Standard/ˈhɪɚ̯/Canada, General-American
  1. This place; this location.

    uncountable · usually
    Here is where I met my spouse twelve years ago.
    An Alzheimer patient's here may in his mind be anywhere he called home in the time he presently re-lives.
  2. This place; this location. This point or stage in time, conceptualised as a location.

    figuratively · uncountable · usually
    I'd like to continue my story, but here is where I must stop.
    I've done as much as I can; you'll have to take it from here.
  3. This time, the present situation.

    abstract · uncountable · usually
Where this word comes from

From Middle English her, from Old English hēr (“at this place”), from Proto-West Germanic *hēr, from Proto-Germanic *hē₂r, from *hiz + *-r, from Proto-Indo-European *kís, from *ḱe + *ís. Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian hier, West Frisian hjir, Dutch hier, German Low German hier, German hier, Danish her, Swedish här, Norwegian her, Faroese her, Icelandic hér. Also related to the English pronoun he (“this/that person”), and the words hither (“to this place”) and hence (“from this place”).

intj/ˈhɪə̯/Received-Pronunciation/ˈhɪː/British, Southern, Standard/ˈhɪjə/British, Southern, Standard/ˈhɪɚ̯/Canada, General-American
  1. Used semi-assertively to offer something to the listener.

    slang
    Here, now I'm giving it to you.
  2. Used for emphasis at the beginning of a sentence when expressing an opinion or want.

    Ireland · UK · slang
    Here, I'm tired and I want a drink.
  3. Used to attract someone's attention, often in a hostile way.

    informal
    Here! You! Stop doing that!
  4. Said in response to one's name being called during a roll call, indicating that one is present.

    Smith ... Here! ... Jones ... Here! ... Walters ... ... Anyone seen Walters?
  5. Said to command a person or higher animal to come to the speaker.

    "Fido! Here!" — "Woof! Woof!"
Where this word comes from

From Middle English her, from Old English hēr (“at this place”), from Proto-West Germanic *hēr, from Proto-Germanic *hē₂r, from *hiz + *-r, from Proto-Indo-European *kís, from *ḱe + *ís. Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian hier, West Frisian hjir, Dutch hier, German Low German hier, German hier, Danish her, Swedish här, Norwegian her, Faroese her, Icelandic hér. Also related to the English pronoun he (“this/that person”), and the words hither (“to this place”) and hence (“from this place”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.