it
it Lexical Profile
it Game Scores & Validity
• pronoun
Used to refer to an inanimate object, animal, plant, or abstract concept that has already been mentioned or is easily identified.
"She picked up the antique watch and examined it carefully under the light."
Used as a grammatical dummy subject with verbs describing weather, time, distance, or general ambient conditions.
"It has been snowing heavily in the mountains since early yesterday morning."
Used as an anticipatory subject or object to stand in for a delayed infinitive phrase or subordinate clause that follows later in the sentence.
"It is essential that all applicants submit their transcripts before the deadline."
Used to identify a person whose identity or gender is initially unspecified, such as someone speaking on a telephone, knocking at a door, or an infant.
"When the doorbell rang late at night, I looked through the window to see who it was."
• noun
In children's games such as tag or hide-and-seek, the player who is required to chase, find, or catch the other participants.
"The children counted out rhymes to decide who would be it for the first round of tag."
A quality of magnetic personal charm, charismatic presence, or strong physical appeal.
"The young actress quickly rose to stardom because directors believed she possessed that indefinable it."
Word Nuance & Usage
The possessive determiner form is 'its' (without an apostrophe), whereas 'it's' is strictly a contraction of 'it is' or 'it has'.
• Rhymes for it
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'hit', the neuter form of the demonstrative stem 'hi-', originating from Proto-Germanic '*hit'. The initial 'h' was gradually lost in unstressed positions during the Middle English period.