People vs. Person — What's the Difference?

All the individuals who can be referred to collectively.

A human being regarded as an individual.

Persons in general.

One who holds a position or role of some responsibility.

Humans collectively.

A character or part in a play or story.

The members of a specific group or nationality.

A human as distinguished from a thing or an animal.

The body of persons who constitute a community, tribe, race, or nation.

The body or clothing of a human being.

A people is a plurality of persons considered as a whole, as is the case with an ethnic group, nation or the public of a polity.

A person (plural people or persons) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of property, or legal responsibility. The defining features of personhood and, consequently, what makes a person count as a person, differ widely among cultures and contexts.In addition to the question of personhood, of what makes a being count as a person to begin with, there are further questions about personal identity and self: both about what makes any particular person that particular person instead of another, and about what makes a person at one time the same person as they were or will be at another time despite any intervening changes.

Human beings in general or considered collectively

A living human. Often used in combination

The members of a particular nation, community, or ethnic group

An individual of specified character

The supporters or employees of a person in a position of power or authority

The composite of characteristics that make up an individual personality; the self.

(of a group of people) inhabit (a place)

The living body of a human

Humans considered as a group or in indefinite numbers. Often treated as a plural of person, alone and in compounds

Physique and general appearance.

The mass of ordinary persons; the populace. Used with the

(Law) A human, corporation, organization, partnership, association, or other entity deemed or construed to be governed by a particular law.

A body of persons living in the same country under one national government; a nationality.

(Christianity) Any of the three separate individualities of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as distinguished from the essence of the Godhead that unites them.

The citizens of a political unit, such as a nation or state; the electorate. Used with the.

Any of three groups of pronoun forms with corresponding verb inflections that distinguish the speaker (first person), the individual addressed (second person), and the individual or thing spoken of (third person).

Pl. peo·ples A body of persons sharing a common religion, culture, or language

Any of the different forms or inflections expressing these distinctions.

Persons with regard to their residence, class, profession, or group

A character or role, as in a play; a guise

Persons subordinate to or loyal to a ruler, superior, or employer

An individual substance of a rational nature; usually a human being.

A person's family, relatives, or ancestors

A character or part, as in a play; a specific kind or manifestation of individual character, whether in real life, or in literary or dramatic representation; an assumed character.

(Informal) Animals or other beings distinct from humans

(Christianity) Any one of the three hypostases of the Holy Trinity: the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit.

To settle or inhabit with people; populate.

Any sentient or socially intelligent being.

To be present in or on (a place)

(in a compound noun or noun phrase) Someone who likes or has an affinity for (a specified thing).

Used as plural of person; a body of human beings considered generally or collectively; a group of two or more persons.

(in a compound noun or noun phrase) A human of unspecified gender (in terms usually constructed with man or woman).

(countable) Persons forming or belonging to a particular group, such as a nation, class, ethnic group, country, family, etc.

(in a compound noun or noun phrase) A worker in a specified function or specialty.

A group of persons regarded as being employees, followers, companions or subjects of a ruler.

The physical body of a being seen as distinct from the mind, character, etc.

One's colleagues or employees.

(law) Any individual or formal organization with standing before the courts.

A person's ancestors, relatives or family.

(grammar) A linguistic category used to distinguish between the speaker of an utterance and those to whom or about whom they are speaking. See grammatical person.

The mass of a community as distinguished from a special class (elite); the commonalty; the populace; the vulgar; the common crowd; the citizens.

(biology) A shoot or bud of a plant; a polyp or zooid of the compound Hydrozoa, Anthozoa, etc.; also, an individual, in the narrowest sense, among the higher animals.

Plural of person.

To represent as a person; to personify; to impersonate.

(transitive) To stock with people or inhabitants; to fill as with people; to populate.

To man, to supply with staff or crew.

(intransitive) To become populous or populated.

A character or part, as in a play; a specific kind or manifestation of individual character, whether in real life, or in literary or dramatic representation; an assumed character.

(transitive) To inhabit; to occupy; to populate.

The bodily form of a human being; body; outward appearance; as, of comely person.

To interact with people; to socialize.

A living, self-conscious being, as distinct from an animal or a thing; a moral agent; a human being; a man, woman, or child.

The body of persons who compose a community, tribe, nation, or race; an aggregate of individuals forming a whole; a community; a nation.

A human being spoken of indefinitely; one; a man; as, any person present.

Persons, generally; an indefinite number of men and women; folks; population, or part of population; as, country people; - sometimes used as an indefinite subject or verb, like on in French, and man in German; as, people in adversity.

A parson; the parish priest.

The mass of community as distinguished from a special class; the commonalty; the populace; the vulgar; the common crowd; as, nobles and people.

Among Trinitarians, one of the three subdivisions of the Godhead (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost); an hypostasis.

One's ancestors or family; kindred; relations; as, my people were English.

One of three relations or conditions (that of speaking, that of being spoken to, and that of being spoken of) pertaining to a noun or a pronoun, and thence also to the verb of which it may be the subject.

To stock with people or inhabitants; to fill as with people; to populate.

A shoot or bud of a plant; a polyp or zooid of the compound Hydrozoa Anthozoa, etc.; also, an individual, in the narrowest sense, among the higher animals.

(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively;

To represent as a person; to personify; to impersonate.

The body of citizens of a state or country;

A human being;

The common people generally;

A person's body (usually including their clothing);

Members of a family line;

A grammatical category of pronouns and verb forms;

Fill with people or supply with inhabitants;

Make one's home or live in;

"People" can refer to the citizenry or a collective in legal contexts, while "person" refers to an individual's rights or identity.

The plural form of "person" is "persons" or more commonly "people."

No, "person" specifically refers to a single individual.

Yes, "people" is used to refer to two or more individuals collectively.

They are not typically interchangeable, as they refer to different numbers of individuals.

Yes, "people" can refer to members of a specific nationality or ethnic group.

Yes, while typically used for larger groups, "people" can refer to any group of two or more.

In sociology, "people" often refers to specific groups analyzed for social studies, whereas in everyday use, it can refer more generally to any group of individuals.

Synonyms like "individual" or "human being" can be used as formal alternatives to "person."

Yes, in legal terms, "person" can include rights, responsibilities, and legal status.

It refers to individuals considered important in a particular context, often used in legal or investigative scenarios.

"People" is a plural noun.

Yes, "people" is commonly used in demographics to discuss characteristics of populations.

The word "person" comes from the Latin "persona," which means an individual's role or character.

In human resources, "people" refers to the workforce collectively, while "person" might focus on individual employee assessments.