ID
ID
Pronunciation
The IPA phonetic spelling for "ID" is /aɪˈdiː/.
First syllable: /aɪ/
/aɪ/ as in the "i" in "pie"
Second syllable: /diː/
/d/ as in the "d" in "dog"
/iː/ as in the "ee" in "see"
Word Form Variations
Singular (as a noun, referring to the document/card): ID (e.g., "Show me your ID.")
Plural (as a noun, referring to multiple documents/cards): IDs (e.g., "They checked all our IDs.")
Verb (to identify): ID (e.g., "Can you ID the suspect?")
Verb (third person singular present): IDs (e.g., "She IDs everyone at the door.")
Verb (present participle): ID'ing (less common, often written as "identifying")
Verb (past tense/past participle): ID'd (less common, often written as "identified")
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
A document or card used to prove one's identity.
Synonyms: identification, credentials, papers, badge, pass
Antonyms: (No direct antonyms, as it refers to a specific object)
Example: "You'll need a valid ID to enter the building."
The state or process of recognizing or confirming the identity of someone or something.
Synonyms: identification, recognition, verification, ascertainment
Antonyms: misidentification, anonymity (in the context of not being identified)
Example: "The police are working on the ID of the mysterious object found at the scene."
Verb
To recognize or establish the identity of someone or something.
Synonyms: identify, recognize, pinpoint, distinguish, ascertain
Antonyms: misidentify, overlook, confuse
Example: "Can you ID the person who was with you last night?"
To provide a form of identification.
Synonyms: show ID, present identification
Antonyms: (No direct antonyms, as it's an action)
Example: "The bouncer asked everyone to ID before entering the club."
Examples of Use
Newspapers: "Authorities are working to ID the victims of the recent train derailment." (CNN, March 2024)
Online Publications: "How to choose the best photo ID for travel abroad." (Lonely Planet, January 2024)
Books: In The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, characters frequently discuss needing to "show their ID" to access restricted archives or verify their identities.
Entertainment - Television (Crime Drama): A detective in a show might say, "We need to get a clear ID on the suspect from the security footage." (e.g., NCIS, various episodes)
Entertainment - Film: In the movie Superbad, the protagonists attempt to use a fake ID to buy alcohol.
Entertainment - Video Games: Many role-playing games feature "item IDs" or "NPC IDs" used by developers or players for specific game mechanics. (e.g., Skyrim modding communities often discuss console commands that use item IDs.)
General Public Discourse:
"Make sure you have your ID on you if you're going to the concert tonight."
"The bouncer asked me to ID before I could go in."
"I need to update my driver's license; my old ID is expired."
"Can you ID this bird? I've never seen one like it before."
Social Media/Online Forums: "Just got my new student ID! Feeling official." (Reddit, University Subreddit, February 2024)
Government/Official Context: "Please present your valid government-issued photo ID at the registration desk." (Airport security signage, ongoing)
10 Quotes Using ID
"Where id was, there ego shall be." (Sigmund Freud, New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis)
"Do you think that when they asked George Washington for ID that he just whipped out a quarter?" (Steven Wright)
"When a place gets crowded enough to require ID's, social collapse is not far away." (Robert A. Heinlein)
"My whole comic persona is that of a guy who explores the id: I romanticize gluttony, I romanticize laziness, and people identify with that." (Jim Gaffigan)
"For me, your real age is not the age on your ID. That's just a date when you were born." (Jose Mourinho)
"I am absolutely opposed to a national ID card. This is a total contradiction of what a free society is all about." (Ron Paul)
"If an NSA, FBI, CIA, DIA, etc analyst has access to query raw SIGINT databases, they can enter and get results for anything they want. Phone number, email, user id, cell phone handset id (IMEI), and so on - it's all the same." (Edward Snowden)
"Voter ID laws have a disproportionate impact on groups that lean democratic - including blacks, hispanics and students." (Adam Cohen)
"Making it compulsory to show identification before voting risks compromising a basic human right by creating further barriers for people who may no longer have an acceptable form of ID, thanks to the often unpredictable and chaotic lifestyle homelessness can cause." (Dawn Foster1)
"The Fair Elections Act in its final form will require every single voter to produce ID showing who they are before they vote." (Pierre Poilievre)
Etymology
The word "ID" has a couple of different origins, depending on how it's being used.
"ID" as in "identification" (the document or the act of identifying):
This is the most common use in everyday language. Here, "ID" is simply a shortened, informal way of saying "identification" or "identity."First Known Use: The use of "I.D." (often with periods) or "ID" as an abbreviation for "identification" or "identity document" started appearing in written English around the 1910s or 1920s. For example, you can find uses of "I.D. (Identification) Room" in publications from 1944. Before that, people would simply say "identification card" or "identity card." It became a quick and easy way to refer to these documents or the process of proving who you are.
"Id" in psychology (from Freud):
This "id" is quite different and comes from psychology, specifically from Sigmund Freud's theories.Origin: Freud originally wrote about "das Es" in German, which literally means "the it." When his work was translated into Latin, "das Es" became "id," which is the Latin word for "it."
First Known Use and Meaning: This "id" was first used in English translations of Freud's work around the 1920s, particularly in 1924 with Joan Riviere's translation of Freud's Das Ich und das Es (The Ego and the Id). In this context, the "id" refers to the basic, unconscious part of our personality that contains our primal desires and instincts, like hunger, thirst, and sexual urges. It operates on the "pleasure principle," meaning it wants immediate satisfaction.
Phrases + Idioms Containing ID
Show your ID: To present your identification document.
Check ID: To verify someone's identification.
Get an ID: To obtain an identification document.
Fake ID: An illegitimate or forged identification document.
No ID, no entry: A common sign indicating that identification is required for access.
On ID: Often used in a security context, meaning entry is based on identification. (e.g., "The package will only be released on ID.")
Photo ID required: A standard demand for identification that includes a photograph.
Digital ID: An electronic form of identification.
To ID a suspect: To identify or recognize a person believed to have committed a crime.
The bare bones of identity: (Using a synonym, "identity," for an idiomatic expression) referring to the fundamental aspects that define who someone is.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of ID from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
