-some

¹ American  

1. a native English suffix formerly used in the formation of adjectives.

   quarrelsome; burdensome.

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-some ² American  

1. a collective suffix used with numerals.

   twosome; threesome.

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-some ³ American  

1. a combining form meaning “body,” used in the formation of compound words.

   chromosome.

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some ⁴ American  

[suhm, suhm] / sʌm, səm /

adjective

1. being an undetermined or unspecified one.

   Some person may object.

2. (used with plural nouns) certain.

   Some days I stay home.

3. of a certain unspecified number, amount, degree, etc..

   to some extent.

4. unspecified but considerable in number, amount, degree, etc..

   We talked for some time. He was here some weeks.

5. Informal. of impressive or remarkable quality, consequence, extent, etc..

   That was some storm.

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pronoun

1. certain persons, individuals, instances, etc., not specified.

   Some think he is dead.

2. an unspecified number, amount, etc., as distinguished from the rest or in addition.

   He paid a thousand dollars and then some.

adverb

1. (used with numerals and with words expressing degree, extent, etc.) approximately; about.

   Some 300 were present.

2. Informal. to some degree or extent; somewhat.

   I like baseball some. She is feeling some better today.

3. Informal. to a great degree or extent; considerably.

   That's going some.

some ¹ British  

/ səm, sʌm /

determiner

1. 1. (a) certain unknown or unspecified

      some lunatic drove into my car

      some people never learn

   2. ( as pronoun; functioning as sing or plural )

      some can teach and others can't

2. 1. an unknown or unspecified quantity or amount of

      there's some rice on the table

      he owns some horses

   2. ( as pronoun; functioning as sing or plural )

      we'll buy some

3. 1. a considerable number or amount of

      he lived some years afterwards

   2. a little

      show him some respect

4. informal (usually stressed) an impressive or remarkable

   that was some game!

5. a certain amount (more) (in the phrases some more and (informal) and then some )

6. about; approximately

   he owes me some thirty pounds

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adverb

1. not_standard to a certain degree or extent

   I guess I like him some

-some ² British  

suffix

1. characterized by; tending to

   awesome

   tiresome

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-some ³ British  

suffix

1. indicating a group of a specified number of members

   threesome

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-some ⁴ British  

/ -səʊm /

combining form

1. a body

   chromosome

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some Idioms  

1. see and then some; catch some rays; catch some z's; dig up (some dirt); in a (some) sense; in some measure; one of these days (some day); take some doing; to some degree; win some, lose some.

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Commonly Confused

As pronouns, both some and any may be used in affirmative or negative questions: Will you ( won't you ) have some? Do you ( don't you ) have any? But some is used in affirmative statements and answers: You may have some. Yes, I'd like some. And in negative statements and answers, any is the usual choice: I don't care for any. No, I can't take any.

Etymology

Origin of -some¹

Middle English; Old English -sum; akin to Gothic -sama, German -sam; same

Origin of -some²

Middle English -sum, Old English sum; special use of some (pronoun)

Origin of -some³

< Greek sôma body; soma ¹

Origin of some⁴

First recorded before 900; Middle English (adjective and pronoun); Old English sum originally, “someone”; cognate with Middle Low German, Middle High German sum, Old Norse sumr, Gothic sums

Example Sentences

People do weird things at all times of the year, but Christmas can be a trying time emotionally for some people.

From MarketWatch

If you believe it’s better to exercise some Christmas charity and/or give this guest the benefit of the doubt.

From MarketWatch

And even though some companies have pushed for a return to the office in the years since, millions of Americans — about 20% of private salary and wage workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics — were still working from home for at least some of their hours as of April 2025, while just under 10% were working remotely every day.

From MarketWatch

And even among fully on-site employees, nearly half would choose some remote work, including 37% who want hybrid schedules and 11% who want to be fully remote.

From MarketWatch

While this viral exercise is extreme, Link noted that some workers may consider a small pay cut to work remotely as a fair trade.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• a few
• any