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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

item.

A distinct physical object.

4 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈaɪ.təm/Received-Pronunciation/ˈaɪ.təm/Canada, General-American[ˈaɪ̯.ɾəm]Canada, General-American[ˈaɪ̯.ɾm̩]Canada, General-American
  1. A distinct physical object.

    Tweezers are great for manipulating small items.
  2. An object that can be picked up for later use.

    broadly
  3. A line of text having a legal or other meaning; a separate particular in an account.

    the items in a bill
    In response to the first item, we deny all wrongdoing.
  4. A question on a test, which may include its answers.

    The exam has 100 items, each of which includes a correct response and three distractors.
  5. A matter for discussion in an agenda.

    The first item for discussion is the budget for next year's picnic.
  6. Two people who are having a romantic or sexual relationship with each other.

    informal
    Jack and Jill are an item.
  7. A short article in a newspaper.

    an item concerning the weather
  8. A hint; an innuendo.

    obsolete
  9. Ellipsis of item girl.

    India · abbreviation · alt-of · ellipsis
Where this word comes from

From Middle English item, from Latin item (“also; in the same manner”). The present English meaning derives from a usage in lists, where the first entry would begin in primis (“firstly”) or imprimis, and the other entries with item (“also, moreover”). Later, the members of lists were referred to as "items".

verb/ˈaɪ.təm/Received-Pronunciation/ˈaɪ.təm/Canada, General-American[ˈaɪ̯.ɾəm]Canada, General-American[ˈaɪ̯.ɾm̩]Canada, General-American
  1. To make a note of.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English item, from Latin item (“also; in the same manner”). The present English meaning derives from a usage in lists, where the first entry would begin in primis (“firstly”) or imprimis, and the other entries with item (“also, moreover”). Later, the members of lists were referred to as "items".

adv/ˈaɪ.təm/Received-Pronunciation/ˈaɪ.təm/Canada, General-American[ˈaɪ̯.ɾəm]Canada, General-American[ˈaɪ̯.ɾm̩]Canada, General-American
  1. likewise

    not-comparable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English item, from Latin item (“also; in the same manner”). The present English meaning derives from a usage in lists, where the first entry would begin in primis (“firstly”) or imprimis, and the other entries with item (“also, moreover”). Later, the members of lists were referred to as "items".

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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.