TKG English Learner's Dictionary

people

peoplenoun

American /ˈpi.pəl/ British /ˈpiː.pəl/
plural peoples
very commondefining vocabulary

People means more than one person, and from that come the ordinary citizens of a country as a group, and a whole nation as one people.

  1. plural of personmen, women, and children; more than one person

    People is the plural of person and takes a plural verb: people are, not people is. In this sense it has no plural of its own and never takes a.

    plural only [pl]

    Collocations

    adjective + noun young people, old people, most people, ordinary people, local people, other people
    verb + noun meet people, help people, know people
    phrase a lot of people, people in general, the people around you

    Compare person (the singular)

    1. athe persons who work for someone, or who belong to their family or group

      plural only [pl] informal

      Collocations

      phrase my people, your people, our people

  2. citizensthe ordinary citizens of a country, thought of as a group and not as those who rule it

    plural only [pl]

    Collocations

    phrase the will of the people, the voice of the people, power to the people
    adjective + noun the common people, ordinary people

    Compare public (the public is people in general as an audience or as customers)

    For translators (sense 2)

    Cultural background With the, this sense often has a political ring: the will of the people means what ordinary citizens want, as against what the government does.

  3. a nationall the men, women, and children of a particular country, race, or religion, thought of as one group; a nation

    countable [C]

    Collocations

    adjective + noun a proud people, an ancient people, the native peoples, the indigenous peoples
    phrase the peoples of the world, a people's history

    Synonyms nation

    For translators (sense 3)

    Grammar trap Countable only in this sense: a people, two peoples, a plural verb with peoples and a singular verb with a people.

Phrases

of all people

the person or people you would least expect

Placed after a name or a pronoun, to show surprise that this particular person did or said something, given what you know about them.

a people person informal

someone who enjoys being with other people and is good at dealing with them

Word family

Usage

People is the usual plural of person and takes a plural verb: people are, people were. For one, say a person, never a people. The countable noun people, plural peoples, means a nation or a race: the peoples of the region. Persons appears only in legal and official language.

Common mistakes

There were many peoples in the street. There were many people in the street.
People is already plural; peoples means nations or races.
I met a people from my town. I met a person from my town.
A people means a nation; for one human say a person, and for several say some people.
People is strange sometimes. People are strange sometimes.
People takes a plural verb.

For translators

Meaning across languages Often two different words in other languages: the plural of person (three people, people say) and a people meaning a nation or a race (the peoples of the continent). The second is countable in English and has a plural of its own.
Grammar trap In the ordinary sense people is plural only: people are, many people, some people; never a people or peoples. Only the sense a nation is countable: a proud people, two peoples. Learners whose languages have a singular group word for people often use a singular verb.
Cultural background The people, with the, often means the ordinary citizens in contrast to the government and has a political ring: the will of the people. Native peoples or first peoples is a respectful term for the original inhabitants of a country.
Pronunciation trap Two syllables, PEE-pul. The second syllable has a weak vowel, so it sounds like the ending of table, not like the word pull. The first part rhymes with see.