persons

1. (now chiefly formal or law) plural of person, used to refer to them individually, rather than as a group; contrast peopleExamples: "2007 May 14: The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor, Current Population Survey Frequently Asked Questions — Question 5: “Who is counted as unemployed?” Persons are classified as unemployed if they do not have a job, have actively looked for work in the prior 4 weeks, and are currently available for work."; "Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems— […]. Such a slow-release device containing angiogenic factors could be placed on the pia mater covering the cerebral cortex and tested in persons with senile dementia in long term studies."; "Which persons are responsible for this mess?"form-offormalplural