people

Universal Words noun, verb noun 1 [pl.] persons; men, women and children: At least ten people were killed in the crash. * There were a lot of people at the party. * Many young people are out of work. 2 [pl.] persons in general or everyone: He doesn't care what people think of him. * She tends to annoy people. HELPNOTE Use everyone or everybody instead of 'all people'. 3 [C] all the persons who live in a particular place or belong to a particular country, race, etc: the French people * the native peoples of Siberia seealsoTOWNSPEOPLE 4 (the people) [pl.] the ordinary men and women of a country rather than those who govern or have a special position in society: the life of the common people * It was felt that the government was no longer in touch with the people. seealsoLITTLEPEOPLE 5 [pl.] men and women who work in a particular type of job or are involved in a particular area of activity: a meeting with business people and bankers * These garments are intended for professional sports people. 6 [pl.] (literary) the men, women and children that a person leads: The king urged his people to prepare for war. * the story of the Zulu leader who died while attempting to free his people 7 [pl.] the men and women who work for you or support you: I've had my people watching the house for a few days. * Our people are all highly trained and motivated. 8 [pl.] (BrE, informal) guests or friends: I'm having people to dinner this evening. 9 [pl.] (old-fashioned) the men, women and children that you are closely related to, especially your parents, grandparents, etc: She's spending the holidays with her people. seealsoBOATPEOPLE, STREETPEOPLE, TRADESPEOPLE IDIOMS of all people when you say of all people, you are emphasizing that sb is the person you would most or least expect to do sth: She of all people should know the answer to that. people (who live) in glass houses shouldn't throw stones (saying) you should not criticize other people, because they will easily find ways of criticizing you moreatMANn., THING verb [VN] [usuallypassive] ~ sth (with sth) (written) to live in a place or fill it with people: The town was peopled largely by workers from the car factory and their families. * The ballroom was peopled with guests.