he

UK: full: /ˈhiː/, weak: /hi/, elided: /iː/

US: /hi; unstressed i/

US: (hē; unstressed ē)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

he¹ /hi; unstressed i/   pron., [nom.] he, poss. his, obj. him*  pl. [nom.] they, poss. their or theirs, obj. them;
 n., pl. hes;
 adj. 
pron. 

1. the male person or animal being discussed or last mentioned;
   that male:
   Where did that man go? He's in the back of the room.
2. anyone (without reference to the person's sex);
   that person:
   He who hesitates is lost.

n. [countable]

3. any male person or animal:
   Is that cat a he or a she?

adj. 

4. male (usually used in combination with a noun):
   a he-goat.

Usage

In traditional grammar books, the word he and the other masculine pronouns his and him have been used when the sex of the person referred to was not known:
Everyone who wishes to vote "yes" should raise his right hand.
This so-called "generic'' use is often criticized as sexist, although many speakers and writers continue to use it. Other writers use the phrases he or she, s/he, him or her, and others to avoid favoring one sex:
Everyone who wishes to vote "yes" should raise his or her right hand.
Another solution is to use they and the related forms them, their:
Everyone who agrees should raise their right hand.
But this can create another problem, because everyone is technically singular and they/them/their is plural, and some writers dislike this "agreement'' problem. To be safest, it is sometimes possible to change the main noun itself to the plural, so that the pronouns they/them/their can "agree:''
All who wish to vote "yes" should raise their right hand.

H.E.,  an abbreviation of:

1. high explosive.
2. His Eminence.
3. His Excellency;
   Her Excellency.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

he¹  (hē; unstressed ē), pron., [nom.] he, poss. his, obj. him;
 pl. [nom.] they, poss. their or theirs, obj. them;
 n., pl. hes;
 adj. 
pron. 

1. the male person or animal being discussed or last mentioned;
   that male.
2. anyone (without reference to sex);
   that person:
   He who hesitates is lost.

n. 

3. any male person or animal;
   a man:
   hes and shes.

adj. 

4. male (usually used in combination):
   a he-goat.

• bef. 900; Middle English, Old English hē (masculine nominative singular); cognate with Dutch hij, Old Saxon hē, Old High German her he; see his, him, she, her, it¹

Usage

Traditionally, the masculine singular pronouns he¹, his, and him have been used generically to refer to indefinite pronouns like anyone, everyone, and someone (Everyone who agrees should raise his right hand) and to singular nouns that can be applied to either sex (painter, parent, person, teacher, writer, etc.):
Every writer knows that his first book is not likely to be a bestseller.
This generic use is often criticized as sexist, although many speakers and writers continue the practice.
Those who object to the generic use of he have developed various ways of avoiding it. One is to use he/she or she/he (or he or she or she or he) or the appropriate case forms of these pairs:
Everyone who agrees should raise his or her (or her or his or his/her or her/his) right hand.
Forms blending the feminine and masculine pronouns, as s/he, have not been widely adopted, probably because of confusion over how to say them.
Another solution is to change the antecedent pronoun or noun from singular to plural so that the plural pronouns they, their, and them can be used:
All who agree should raise their right hands.
All writers know that their first books are not likely to be bestsellers.
See also they. 

he²  (hā), n. 

1. Linguistics the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
2. Linguistics any of the sounds represented by this letter.

Also, heh. 

• Hebrew hē’

HE, 

1. Chemistry high explosive.

He, [Symbol, Chem.]

1. Chemistry helium.

H.E., 

1. high explosive.
2. His Eminence.
3. His Excellency;
   Her Excellency.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

he / hiː (unstressed) iː/ pronoun (subjective)

1. refers to a male person or animal
2. refers to an indefinite antecedent such as one, whoever, or anybody: everybody can do as he likes in this country
3. refers to a person or animal of unknown or unspecified sex: a member of the party may vote as he sees fit

noun

1. a male person or animal
2. (in combination): he-goat
3. a children's game in which one player chases the others in an attempt to touch one of them, who then becomes the chaser
   Compare tag2
4. the person chasing
   Compare it17

Etymology: Old English hē; related to Old Saxon hie, Old High German her he, Old Slavonic sĭ this, Latin cis on this sideUSAGE
The use of he and other masculine pronouns to refer to an unspecified person or to people in general, as in everybody can do as he likes in this country, was formerly widespread. In modern usage, however, it is preferable to use gender-neutral alternatives such as everybody can do as he or she likes in this country or even everybody can do as they like in this country. The latter usage was formerly considered incorrect, but is now acceptable in all but the most formal contexts

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

HE abbreviation

1. high explosive
2. His Eminence
3. His (or Her) Excellency

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

He symbol:chemical

1. helium