its
/ɪts//ɪʔ.s/
its determiner: belonging to it. Also the obsolete spelling of it's.
Determiner
its
- Belonging to it.
- The manner wherewith our Lawes assay to moderate the foolish and vaine expences of table-cheare and apparell, seemeth contrarie to it's end.1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 43, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book I, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC
- since I have been at the Pains to write it, if he consents to it's being published I will follow my Friend's Advice, and chiefly yours.1751, G. Burnett, translated by Thomas More, Utopia
Pronoun
its
- The one (or ones) belonging to it.
- … both Houses have resolved to rob the North of a good friend of its and yours.1645, Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton, Letter to Ferdinando Fairfax, 6 February 1645
- EBay Canada argued in court that the data sought by tax collectors was not its to give.2007 October 1, Ian Austen, “Canadian Court Opens Up eBay Data to Tax Agency”, in New York Times
Noun capitalized: ITS
ITS
- Initialism of issue tracking system.
- Initialism of intelligent transportation system.
Also used as
its is also the obsolete spelling of it's.
its is also the plural of it.
its meaning in Tamil
its in Tamil
- belonging to it
- அதன் ataṉ, அதனுடைய ataṉuṭaiya, இதன் itaṉ, இதனுடைய itaṉuṭaiya
- that which belongs to it
- அதனுடையது ataṉuṭaiyatu, இதனுடையது itaṉuṭaiyatu
Examples of its in a sentence
- They descended the hill, crossed the bridge, and drove to the door; and, while examining the nearer aspect of the house, all her apprehensions of meeting its owner returned.1813, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice:
- The Chinese government is at war with its own people.1989 June 5, Jasper Becker, John Gittings, The Guardian:
- Nara and its deer are so closely associated that the light-brown colored animals are pictured in the city’s tourism ads, on buses, train tickets and more.2024 July 23, Lilit Marcus, “Japan may be sick of mass tourism. But the deer in this ancient UNESCO-listed city love it”, in CNN:
- ...the Board of Trade of Chicago can at least feel that it has played its part manfully and patriotically, and that no act of its has stood in the way of National victory.1917, Charles Henry Taylor, History of the Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, volume 2, page 1259:
Forms of its
| alternative form | it's |
|---|
Origin of its
Equivalent to it + -s (possessive marker). From the earlier form it's (it + -'s), which is now considered nonstandard. Began to displace his as the possessive of the neuter pronoun in the Middle English period; had fully displaced it by the 1700s.
Contraction of it + is.
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Words formed from its
Phrases with its
- gin and its
- of its hand
- of its kind
- of its part
- on its merits
- take its rise
- take its toll
- took its rise
- took its toll
- wash its face
- on its way out
- open its doors
100 more phrasesFewer phrases
- run its course
- taken its rise
- taken its toll
- takes its rise
- takes its toll
- behind its time
- in its entirety
- in its totality
- life of its own
- of its own head
- opens its doors
- preparatory its
- take its course
- taking its rise
- taking its toll
- took its course
- washed its face
- washes its face
- anticipatory its
- flip on its head
- have its moments
- of its own study
- opened its doors
- stand on its own
- stood on its own
- sum of its parts
- taken its course
- takes its course
- turn on its head
- washing its face
- flips on its head
- opening its doors
- stands on its own
- taking its course
- tell its own tale
- told its own tale
- turns on its head
- tell its own story
- tells its own tale
- turned on its head
- flipped on its head
- in all its branches
- standing on its own
- turning on its head
- flipping on its head
- potato in its jacket
- telling its own tale
- every dog has its day
- water finds its level
- water seeks its level
- of its proper movement
- every rose has its thorn
- virtue is its own reward
- judge a book by its cover
- water finds its own level
- water seeks its own level
- every law has its loophole
- judged a book by its cover
- judges a book by its cover
- let nature take its course
- like a martin to its gourd
- every dog must have its day
- judging a book by its cover
- lets nature take its course
- a good deed is its own reward
- an army marches on its stomach
- letting nature take its course
- allow nature to take its course
- don't judge a book by its cover
- drive a stake through its heart
- drove a stake through its heart
- let crazy stick its dick in you
- never judge a book by its cover
- a leopard can't change its spots
- allows nature to take its course
- driven a stake through its heart
- drives a stake through its heart
- lets crazy stick its dick in you
- like a chicken with its head off
- permit nature to take its course
- a leopard cannot change its spots
- allowed nature to take its course
- driving a stake through its heart
- allowing nature to take its course
- you can't tell a book by its cover
- a leopard does not change its spots
- letting crazy stick its dick in you
- you can't judge a book by its cover
- like a chicken with its head cut off
- a chain is as strong as its weakest link
- a creaking door hangs long on its hinges
- it's an ill bird that fouls its own nest
- a chain is no stronger than its weakest link
- a chain is only as strong as its weakest link
- ran around like a chicken with its head cut off
- run around like a chicken with its head cut off
- runs around like a chicken with its head cut off
- running around like a chicken with its head cut off
- the cow knows not the worth of its tail till it loses it
- a lie can run around the world before the truth can get its boots on
Words that rhyme with its
Questions about its
- What does its mean?
- Its means belonging to it.
- What is its in Tamil?
- Its in Tamil is அதன் (ataṉ), அதனுடைய (ataṉuṭaiya), இதன் (itaṉ). See Its meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use its in a sentence?
- They descended the hill, crossed the bridge, and drove to the door; and, while examining the nearer aspect of the house, all her apprehensions of meeting its owner returned.
- What part of speech is its?
- Its can be a determiner, a pronoun or a noun.
- How do you pronounce its?
- Its is pronounced /ɪts/.
Words near its in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: its (page history and authors); ITS (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-its.ogg.
Cite this entry: “its.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/its. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.