id

1 of 7

noun (1)

ˈid 

: the one of the three divisions of the psyche in psychoanalytic theory that is completely unconscious and is the source of psychic energy derived from instinctual needs and drives compare ego, superego

id

2 of 7

abbreviation (1)

idem

ID

3 of 7

noun (2)

ˈī-ˈdē 

plural ID's or IDs

: a document (such as a card) bearing identifying information about and often a photograph of the individual whose name appears on it

called also ID card, identification card, identity card

ID

4 of 7

verb

ˈī-ˈdē 

ID'd or IDed; ID'ing or IDing

transitive verb

: identify

ID'd the thief

ID

5 of 7

abbreviation (2)

1

Idaho

2

identification

3

independent distributor

4

industrial design

5

often not capitalized inside diameter; inner diameter; internal diameter

6

often not capitalized inside dimensions

7

intellectual disability; intellectually disabled

8

intelligence department

-id

6 of 7

noun suffix (1)

1

: one belonging to a (specified) dynastic line

Abbasid

2

: meteor associated with or radiating from a (specified) constellation or comet

Perseid

-id

7 of 7

noun suffix (2)

: body : particle

chromatid

Synonyms

Verb

• distinguish
• finger
• identify
• pinpoint
• single (out)

Examples of id in a Sentence

Verb

The police have not yet ID'd the victim.

studies that show that eyewitnesses are surprisingly unreliable when called upon to ID the perpetrators of crimes

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The dataset linking analyst names to their recommendations was not provided anymore by I/B/E/S. Clever researchers such as Kelvin Law at Nanyang Business School found a way to reverse engineer some of these anonymous ids. —Shivaram Rajgopal, Forbes, 11 Feb. 2024

Kindness is comedy’s boring first cousin, the very thing that most standup comedians and their rampant ids want to get away from, in order to be their worst and thus their funniest selves. —Hilton Als, The New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2023

Verb

Between the lines: There are other tools on the market that ID drugs that can be repurposed. —Tina Reed, Axios, 25 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

New Latin, from Latin, it

Noun suffix (1)

in sense 1, from Latin -ides, masculine patronymic suffix, from Greek -idēs; in sense 2, from Italian -ide, from Latin -id-, -is, feminine patronymic suffix, from Greek

Noun suffix (2)

probably from Latin -id-, -is, feminine patronymic suffix, from Greek

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1924, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1941, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1944, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing id

• caller ID
• ID card

Medical Definition

id

1 of 4 noun

ˈid 

: the one of the three divisions of the psyche in psychoanalytic theory that is completely unconscious and is the source of psychic energy derived from instinctual needs and drives compare ego, superego

id

2 of 4 noun

: a skin rash that is an allergic reaction to an agent causing an infection

a syphilitic id

tinea pedis and the vesicular ids arising from it

—The Journal of the American Medical Association

compare bacterid

id

3 of 4 abbreviation

the same

ID

4 of 4 abbreviation

1

identification

2

inside diameter; internal diameter

3

intellectual disability; intellectually disabled

4

intradermal

Etymology

Abbreviation

Latin idem

Legal Definition

id.

abbreviation

idem