something

[ suhm-thing ]

/ ˈsʌmˌθɪŋ /

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See synonyms for something on Thesaurus.com

pronoun

some thing; a certain undetermined or unspecified thing: Something is wrong there. Something's happening.

an additional amount, as of cents or minutes, that is unknown, unspecified, or forgotten: He charged me ten something for the hat. Our train gets in at two something.

noun

Informal. a person or thing of some value or consequence: He is really something! This writer has something to say and she says it well.

adverb

in some degree; to some extent; somewhat.

Informal. to a high or extreme degree; quite: He took on something fierce about my tardiness.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of something

before 1000; Middle English, Old English sum thing.See some, thing¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use something in a sentence

Something like fluoride, which is too small for normal filters, yanks away that feeling of agency.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
Citizens, perhaps, need to feel like they can communicate something to science.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
Why would “they” want to crush him just for attempting to buy something twenty years ago?
Phylicia Rashad and the Cult of Cosby Truthers|Stereo Williams|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But I think Steve Austin has to team up with a Japanese holdout to stop a nuclear bomb from going off or something.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

It was something ineffable and harder to define: freedom of speech.
Politicians Only Love Journalists When They're Dead|Luke O’Neil|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He remembered something—the cherished pose of being a man plunged fathoms-deep in business.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
There seems something in that also which I could spare only very reluctantly from a new Bible in the world.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
There is, perhaps, in this childish suffering often something more than the sense of being homeless and outcast.
Children's Ways|James Sully
The beauty, the mystery,—this fierce sunshine or something—stir——' She hesitated for a fraction of a second.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
And furthermore, I imagine something else about this—quite unlike the old Bible—I imagine all of it periodically revised.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

British Dictionary definitions for something (1 of 2)

something

/ (ˈsʌmθɪŋ) /

pronoun

an unspecified or unknown thing; some thinghe knows something you don't; take something warm with you

an unspecified or unknown amount; bitsomething less than a hundred

an impressive or important person, thing, or eventisn't that something?

something else a remarkable person or thing

something or other one unspecified thing or an alternative thing

adverb

to some degree; a little; somewhatto look something like me

(foll by an adjective) informal (intensifier)it hurts something awful

British Dictionary definitions for something (2 of 2)

-something

n combining form

a person whose age can be approximately expressed by a specified decade
(as modifier)the thirtysomething market

Word Origin for -something

C20: from the US television series thirtysomething

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with something

something

In addition to the idioms beginning with something

something else
something else again
something in the wind
something like
something of a
something or other
something tells me
something thing, a

also see:

buy something
get (have) something on someone
get something straight
have something against
hold something against
hold (something) over
look like something the cat dragged in
make something of
not put something past one
on the ball, have something
(something) or other
pull something on
start something
take something
you know something

something

Origin of something

Words related to something

How to use something in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for something (1 of 2)

British Dictionary definitions for something (2 of 2)

Word Origin for -something

Other Idioms and Phrases with something