anybody
Americanpronoun
noun
idioms
pronoun
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any person; anyone
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(usually used with a negative or a question) a person of any importance
he isn't anybody in this town
noun
Spelling
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
See each, they ( def. ).
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of anybody
First recorded in 1250–1300, anybody is from Middle English ani bodi. See any, body
Compare meaning
How does anybody compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Oh, I bugged everybody from my siblings and neighbors. And I’d kick it with anybody that wanted to give me some attention,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2026
"I think anybody that's worked with either sex at a younger age knows there are some fundamental differences," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026
Without paying thousands of dollars in overhead, anybody can start a business from a garage and reach millions more customers than a brick-and-mortar storefront ever could.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
"We want peace. I don't think that anybody wants war," he told AFP.
From Barron's • Jun. 4, 2026
“Why didn’t anybody tell me? All this time?”
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
