Definitions from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Wikipedia

Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Pronunciation 1.2.1 Homophones 1.3 Pronoun 1.3.1 Translations 1.4 Adjective 1.4.1 Translations 1.5 Usage notes 1.6 Anagrams 1.7 See also

[ English

Rank of this word in the English language, from analyzing texts from Project Gutenberg.
upon	may	about	#72: its	time	only	like

[ Etymology

Probably by analogy with possesives ending in 's. There is no apostrophe, by analogy with his/hers/yours/etc. and to distinguish the pronoun from the contraction it's. Note that the corresponding Old English and Middle English genitive form is his.

[ Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪts/, SAMPA: /Its/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}

  Rhymes: -ɪts

[ Homophones

• it's

[ Pronoun

its

1. Possessive form of it.

   This jar has a lid; this is its lid.

[ Translations

possessive of it

Czech: jeho Danish: dens c., dets n. Dutch: het ... ervan, de zijne Finnish: sen

French: son m., sa f., ses pl. German: sein m., ihr f., sein m. Spanish: su sg., sus pl. Swedish: dess

[ Adjective

its

1. Belonging to it (used as a possessive adjective).

   The team on this side of the field and that one over there each has a Captain. I am this one's, you are its.

[ Translations

belonging to it

Czech: jeho Danish: dens c., dets n. Dutch: zijn m., haar f. (Dutch has no genitive of het (it)) Esperanto: gxia Finnish: sen

French: le sien m., la sienne f. Spanish: suyo m sing, suya f sing, suyos m. pl., suyas f. pl. Swedish: dess

[ Usage notes

• Its is the possessive form of it: its therefore does not require an apostrophe to indicate possession as it is already a possessive term, similar to his and hers.
• It's is a contraction of "it is" or "it has."

  "It's going to rain" is equivalent to "it is going to rain."

• Its can function as a possessive pronoun and a possessive adjective. Its form is thee same when used in either case.

[ Anagrams

• sit

[ See also

• their