idiom · informal
be an item
/biː ən ˈaɪtəm/be·an·ITEM
speaking
to be a romantic couple
Examples
“Everyone at work knows they’re an item now.”
“They've been an item since last summer.”
“I didn’t know they were an item until I saw them together.”
Band 8 sentence
“I only realised they were an item when I saw their holiday photos together.”
Collocations
- be an item with someone
- be an item since
Word family
item (noun, informal) nounbe an item with (phrase) phrase
Common mistakes
be item→be an item
an item→be an item
Say it for a higher band
5be a couple→6be dating→7+be an item
Synonyms
be a couple
Easily confused
be a couple
“They have been a couple for two years.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In Relationships
Learn it with its set