People had moved back into their own homes.theirtheir /ðə; strong ðeə $ ðər strong ðer/ ●●● S1 W1 determiner [possessive form of ‘they’] 
They washed their faces and went to bed. The twins spend all their time together. People had moved back into their own homes.2used when talking about someone who may be male or female, to avoid saying ‘his or her’: Everyone is free to express their own opinion. Each student will have their own course-work folder. → his(2)
WORD ORIGINtheir
Origin:
1100-1200 Old Norse theirra ‘theirs’COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY People had moved back into their own homes.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES British people chomp their way through more than a billion bars of chocolate every year. People were pushing each other out of the way in their eagerness to get to the front. The villagers were going about their business as usual. This was just his way of keeping me on my mettle. planes winging their way to exotic destinations
People had moved back into their own homes.· I never know what to give him for his birthday.
(=make it almost impossible for someone or something to continue)· A severe drought brought the country to its knees.
British people chomp their way through more than a billion bars of chocolate every year.· When I left, the landlord refused to give me my deposit back.
spoken informal (=make someone feel very annoyed)· That voice of hers drives me up the wall.
People were pushing each other out of the way in their eagerness to get to the front. (=leave someone in a bad situation)· The abandoned sailors were left to their fate on the island.
· I consider myself a typical Japanese woman of my generation.
The villagers were going about their business as usual. (=someone makes decisions based on emotions rather than careful thought)· He has never been one to let his heart rule his head.
· I often have to help her with her homework.
(=in very large numbers) People flocked in their thousands to greet their new princess.
People flocked in their thousands to greet their new princess. (=accept someone's invitation)· I decided to take them up on their invitation to dinner.
· It is the biggest centre of its kind.
(=take liberty away from someone)· a prisoner who has been deprived of his liberty
(=result in deaths/in someone’s death)· That decision may have cost him his life.
This was just his way of keeping me on my mettle. (also refund somebody’s money) (=give money back to a customer)· We regret that we are unable to refund money on tickets.
(=use that name when you speak to them)· Everyone called him by his first name.
British English (=accept someone's offer)· I might take him up on his offer.
(also ask for somebody’s opinion)· We asked people for their opinions about the Olympics.· Nobody asked my opinion.· It’s a good idea to ask people for their opinions and suggestions.
(=used especially when politely disagreeing with what someone says)· Of course everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I can't accept what he is saying.
(=make them keep it)· The next day, Gareth held me to my promise to take him fishing.
· A flight attendant showed them to their seats.
· Someone has left their coat behind.
planes winging their way to exotic destinationsPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► somebody’s bark is worse than their bite► catch somebody with their pants/trousers down► somebody would give their eye teeth for something► say something/tell somebody something to their face► somebody nearly/almost fell off their chair► have something at your/their etc fingertips► somebody’s life flashes before their eyes► send somebody off with a flea in their ear► knock/lift etc somebody off their feet► beat somebody at their own game► somebody would turn in their grave► give somebody their head► somebody is helping the police with their enquiries► somebody has decided to honour us with their presence► beat/thrash etc somebody to within an inch of their life► knock somebody off their pedestal/perch► somebody will be laughing on the other side of their face► somebody has their own life to lead► somebody has learned their lesson► give somebody a dose/taste of their own medicine► no one in their right mind ...► put something/somebody out of their misery► put somebody/something through their paces► somebody’s eyes popped (out of their head)► everyone has their price► relieve somebody of their post/duties/command etc► somebody can’t get it into their (thick) skull► somebody can do something in their sleep► somebody can do something standing on their head► put somebody off their stroke► somebody is up to their (old) tricks► something/somebody has their uses► walk somebody off their feet► give somebody their walking papers► frighten/scare/terrify somebody out of their wits
1belonging to or connected with people or things that have already been mentioned: - These parents would give their right arms to get their kids into a prestigious school.
- He is soft-spoken, bearded, with a friendly smile and an ability to laugh at himself.
- He was an awe-inspiring sight, his beard jutting out fiercely and his brow knotted in anger.
- It was an older man, with a beard.
- Often he would shave it off, but the next day he would have a beard just the same.
- Protest music made by men with beards for people with fuzzy minds and books in the glove compartments of their Morris Travellers.
- Some of their fathers wore beards.
- The provodnik, my jailer, showed a young bearded man into my compartment.
- With his grizzled beard and his peg-leg he looked like an extra from Treasure Island.
- I was just walking along, minding my own business, when this guy ran straight into me.
- And, for those who work in the travel and tourism industry, this tax could cost them their jobs.
- His plans to slash defence budgets by £6 billion would cost 100,000 more their jobs.
- I believe that it would cost many people their jobs and would cause far more damage than good.
- It could cost them their lives.
- The most far-reaching internal investigation in Phoenix police history cost four officers their jobs Friday for purchasing banned rifles under false pretenses.
- By looking to the Bible and seeking spiritual guidance, he is taking steps to reconcile our differences.
- Despite our differences, I had no need or desire to slam the new administration.
- If our needs conflict I am certainly ready to explore our differences and I may be prepared to compromise.
- In recent weeks the two groups had buried their differences to stage joint armed protests across the country.
- So do you think that we could put our differences aside for just one evening?
- We discussed our differences and agreed to call an armistice.
- When you are weighing up which lender to go to for your loan, you ignore their differences at your peril.
- Fathers should customize each to their own particular needs and situation.
- It is a case of each to his own cell with no slopping out.
- The speech will published in its entirety in tomorrow's paper.
- He withdrew it when it was agreed to omit the paragraph in its entirety.
- It is even possible that this residue could be used in its entirety to make heat shields.
- Of the sections I read in their entirety the coverage is somewhat variable.
- On 30 November the Decree on Missionary Activity was voted through chapter by chapter, and then approved in its entirety.
- Only by offering the play in its entirety, blemishes and all, does its content makes sense.
- Or survive the pain of remembering the past in its entirety?
- Such models of sites and structures have the advantage of giving a three-dimensional view and show the site in its entirety.
- The completed cycle was screened in its entirety for the first time at the Venice Festival this autumn.
- The recession has brought many companies to their knees.
- He yelled for union solidarity to support the strike and to bring management to their knees, but to no avail.
- Their eyes met across the crowded room.
- As the woman searched for a seat, their eyes met and held.
- As their eyes met, Quinn suddenly felt that Stillman had become invisible.
- But when our eyes meet, the invisible daggers fly.
- In between times he looked out the window or stared at me, smiling when our eyes met.
- The family could hear her swift heavy steps, up there, and did not let their eyes meet.
- Then their eyes met and it was not about money.
- When their eyes meet she envisions the fulfillment of her dream of marrying a man with aristocratic connections not from Middlemarch.
- Another athlete with those same qualities now toils in our midst.
- As we rushed to prepare to open the Sale there appeared in our midst an unknown young man.
- But when the others sat for the Scripture readings, Ray McGovern remained upright in their midst, provoking wariness and speculation.
- Downstairs, when Jessica had stormed out, her parents had found themselves remarkably constrained by the stranger in their midst.
- He was the weevil in the fruit, according to Rex, the canker in their midst.
- People living in Surrey Street say they are tired of an unhealthy eyesore in their midst.
- The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and working in our midst.
- They insisted that the explosive events occurring in their midst were the work of the Holy Spirit.
- After 20 years in jail, Murray feels he has paid his debt to society.
- I'd like to put her in her place - she thinks she's so special.
- Battered and beleaguered, Arsenal had been put firmly in their place.
- The Administration of Justice Act 1982 swept away the remaining ones without putting anything in their place.
- Was Morrissey helped put them in their place.
- Slosser gave Boyd a run for his money in the 1996 GOP primary.
- Human experimenters have found it surprisingly difficult to put bats off their stride by playing loud artificial ultrasound at them.
- Donald absolutely swept me off my feet.
- She's just waiting to be swept off her feet by a handsome stranger.
- Then Peter came into my life and swept me off my feet.
- With a test every Friday, she keeps her students on their toes.
- And, keeping them on their toes ... the doctors who walk eighteen miles a day.
- He keeps them on their toes.
- Inflation, which depletes the value of stocks and bonds, also keeps investors on their toes.
- Meetings are held every nineteen days, not necessarily Sundays, which must keep people on their toes.
- The general use of disapproval in order to keep people on their toes tends to be counterproductive after a time.
- Together, these threats are supposed to discipline managers and keep them on their toes.
- We have improved because a few extra players have come in and the bench is outstanding which keeps everyone on their toes.
- You have to have good people doing these jobs, and you have to keep folks on their toes.
- His resignation was winging its way to Sheppards yesterday afternoon.
- If it slips then, as it probably will, the Hingston fortune will wing its way elsewhere.
- Out of a group of trees near by a rook flew, winging its way leisurely across the Park towards him.
- Photographs had winged their way across, and presents at Christmas and Easter, with Mammy's birthday a speciality.
- Readers' original gardening tips Another batch of £50 cash prizes are winging their way to this month's top tipsters.
- Small but dangerously exciting trickles of pleasure were still winging their way through her virtually defenceless body.
- Within seventy minutes each plane has been unloaded, reloaded and winging its way to destination cities.
- Let her do her worst to reach him.
- Sometimes they successfully slowed or blocked the path of the conquistadores when these exploiters were out to do their worst.
They washed their faces and went to bed. The twins spend all their time together. People had moved back into their own homes.2used when talking about someone who may be male or female, to avoid saying ‘his or her’: Everyone is free to express their own opinion. Each student will have their own course-work folder. → his(2)