anybody

[ en-ee-bod-ee, -buhd-ee ]
See synonyms for anybody on Thesaurus.com
pronoun
  1. any person.

noun,plural an·y·bod·ies.
  1. a person of some importance: If you're anybody, you'll receive an invitation.

Compare Meanings

Click for a side-by-side comparison of meanings. Use the word comparison feature to learn the differences between similar and commonly confused words.

Idioms about anybody

  1. anybody's guess, a matter of conjecture: It's anybody's guess why she quit.

Origin of anybody

1
First recorded in 1250–1300, anybody is from Middle English ani bodi. See any, body

usage note For anybody

The pronoun anybody is always written as one word: Is anybody home? There isn't anybody in the office. The two-word noun phrase any body means “any group” ( Any body of students will include a few dissidents ) or “any physical body” ( The search continued for a week despite the failure to find any body ). If the word a can be substituted for any without seriously affecting the meaning, the two-word noun phrase is called for: a body of students; failure to find a body. If the substitution cannot be made, the spelling is anybody. Anybody is less formal than anyone. See also anyone.

usage note For anybody

See each, they.

Words that may be confused with anybody

Words Nearby anybody

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use anybody in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for anybody

anybody

/ (ˈɛnɪˌbɒdɪ, -bədɪ) /


pronoun
  1. any person; anyone

  2. (usually used with a negative or a question) a person of any importance: he isn't anybody in this town

nounplural -bodies
  1. (often preceded by just) any person at random; no matter who

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012