anywhere

American  

[en-ee-hwair, -wair] / ˈɛn iˌʰwɛər, -ˌwɛər /

adverb

1. in, at, or to any place.

2. to any extent; to some degree.

   Does my answer come anywhere near the right one?

---

noun

1. any place or direction.

   They knew the attack could come from anywhere.

idioms

1. get anywhere, to achieve success.

   You'll never get anywhere with that attitude!

anywhere British  

/ ˈɛnɪˌwɛə /

adverb

1. in, at, or to any place

2. to be successful

   it took three years before he got anywhere

3. any quantity, time, degree, etc, above a specified limit

   he could be anywhere from 40 to 50 years old

---

Spelling

See anyplace.

Etymology

Origin of anywhere

1350–1400; Middle English anywher ( e ), aniquar. See any, where

Explanation

The adverb anywhere means "in any location," or "wherever." If you're allowed to pitch your tent anywhere in the campground, it means you can choose any spot you like. When you say, "I can't find the cat anywhere!" it means you've looked every single place you can think of, and you still haven't located your pet. If you win the lottery, you may be overwhelmed by the idea that you can afford to travel anywhere — you can visit any country in the world. English speakers started saying anywhere in the 14th century; earlier, they said owhere or oughwhere.

Example Sentences

Bernardo Pachas said Tuesday that "it could take anywhere from two weeks to the end of the month" to know whether conservative Keiko Fujimori or leftist Roberto Sanchez had won.

From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026

"Scotland already has the lowest pupil-teacher ratio and smallest class sizes anywhere in the UK, and ministers are committed to at least maintaining this ratio over the lifetime of this parliament."

From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026

Only 10 minutes in and Rush could go anywhere, into nearly 50 years of material.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026

But these templates don’t come anywhere close to the real thing, so Kakaiya decided to make an anatomically precise, patented 3D-printed model.

From Slate • Jun. 7, 2026

I would recognize those navy blue wind breakers anywhere.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller